 The line ran quite close to the Pickering to Scarborough Road (now the A170) and some of its stations were some distance from the villages that it claimed to serve.As a consequence, the rural bus service that started up in the 20th century took patronage away from the line and despite using steam railcars and push-pull trains, the passenger numbers dropped.The line closed to passengers completely in June 1950, with closure to all traffic between Thornton Dale and Seamer at the same time.