 The NER operated the line until 1898, when the company acquired the railway for £261,633, less than half its capital cost.The line passed into the hands of the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 Grouping.At the southern end of the route, the goods yard at Gallows Close (north of Falsgrave Tunnel) was expanded for use as a carriage yard in the busy summer months, with excursions routed via the overspill station at sent there for storage between turns.