Tickety-boo again
The latest renovation at the Old Station Allerston has brought a return to old glories. Sharon Dale reports. Pictures by Gary Longbottom.
It was built in 1882 for the North Eastern Railway, closed in 1950 when the Pickering-to-Seamer branch line was axed and was slipping slowly into dereliction. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of a remarkable couple, the old ticket office at what was once Ebberston station has been brought back to life.
The building, complete with restored original features, is now a railway-themed holiday let and is the latest addition to Carol and Mark Benson’s incredible livework enterprise.
The couple bought the derelict station site in 1996 from a farming contractor after Carol came up with the idea of sourcing redundant railway carriages to convert into self-catering holiday lets.
She says: “I was inspired by what were known as camping coaches, which were launched in the 1930s by railway companies.
“They were old passenger trains turned into holiday accommodation and you had to travel by train to get to them. They had them in Robin Hood’s Bay and other beauty spots and back then, they were very basic.”
The location is perfect as the site is on the southern edge of the North York Moors and close to Pickering, York and Scarborough, with Dalby Forest on the doorstep.
The Bensons began by turning the former station master’s house into a family home for them and their two children while going full steam ahead on creating the business that Carol had dreamed of.
The longer-term goal was to embark on a programme of restoration that would bring the rest of the site back to life.
Since then the work at what is now known as the Old Station Allerston has been never ending.
For the last 26 years, Carol and Mark have been hands-on and done much of the renovation and restoration of the site themselves, while paying attention to accuracy, which has impressed even the most ardent rail buffs.
They bought their first railway carriage in 1998 after outbidding scrap dealers for it and then added two more. All are ex British Rail Mk2 first class corridor stock built in Derby between 1968 and 1969. Rusting and covered in graffiti, they were in a sorry state until the Bensons worked their magic.
“Mark had a day job back then so he’d come home, have a quick bite to eat and then we’d work until midnight on the carriages seven days a week. We are pretty good at DIY and can do most things, though we brought in plumbers and electricians for some jobs,” says Carol.
The Network South East carriages, now painted in 1930s LNER colours, have been insulated and have central heating and TVs. Each has a kitchen, bathroom, two or three bedrooms and a sitting room, plus original features, such as the old train seats, luggage rack, compartment door and even the toilet’s Engaged sign.
They have been deemed first class by both rail enthusiasts and those looking for somewhere different to stay, and Carol and Mark have also added a guard’s van at one end of the track they laid and this is now a utility area for guests.
In the first lockdown, they
renovated a 1950s brake van for the other end of the carriages and that has a communal seating area.
The former ticket office, which included the station master’s office, porters’ room, stores and toilets, was the last of the major projects on the to-do list.
Turning it into a holiday let with a kitchen, living/dining room, two ensuite bedrooms and a garden has been a huge undertaking as the “before” picture shows.
This time builders were engaged, though Carol and Mark did some labouring and painting and decorating while tackling the restoration of original features.
The fireplace, where Mr Bouch, the last station master, kept a roaring fire, was lovingly worked on, mostly with a wire brush and black lead.
The window shutters were hand stripped, repaired and re-hung. The clock housing, which was topped with a bird’s nest, still had its original glass from 1882, and was treated to a new face and mechanism.
“The absolute glory of the room is the original ticket hatch, complete with its cast-iron grille,” says Carol. “We removed the hatch, dismantled it, stripped it and put it back together again.”
It looks a treat, as does the rest of the ticket office in its new role as a holiday let.
No expense was spared on the interior fit out and mod cons include underfloor heating and super king/twin zip-link beds.
The red Chesterfield sofas add cosiness and moquette fabric was used for cushions and curtains as that was a traditional seating material on 1930s trains.
Reusing what they could was also important to the Bensons, which is why the slate hearth is one of the stall dividers from gents urinals. “It’s worked well and there was nothing on there a bit of Domestos couldn’t cure,” says Carol with a laugh.
Perhaps most impressive is the collection of railwayana in the property. Among their best finds is an original North Eastern Railways map, which has been framed, while the old noticeboard now has a London and North Eastern Railways sign above it.
The antique luggage label rack was a gift and is from another local station, and Carol and Mark also managed to source two Art Deco lights and a marble-top table from the old Bridlington station tearoom. The table, now with two chairs, is known as the “Brief Encounter table”.
The tiled and framed map is a clever reproduction. The tiles were bought by the Bensons in 2008 and Carol laid and fit them onto a board herself and says: “It’s so heavy it took four people to lift it when I’d finished.”
The ticket office holiday let is about to open for bookings and Carol adds:
“This place has been our life’s work and we love it. We’ll never be rich because we have ploughed everything back into the business but it’s brought us a lot of happiness.
“We might have to downsize at some point but it will be very hard to leave. We love it here and many of our regular guests are now friends.
■ www.theoldstationallerston. co.uk