Most of the intermediate stations on the line were closed to passengers in September 1930 as the number of excursion and holiday trains going straight through to Scarborough during that period meant that the line lacked the capacity to accommodate stopping local services. These services were already seeing a significant decline in passenger numbers prior to their withdrawal due to increased bus competition in the area. The closed stations retained their goods facilities and were maintained for occasional passenger use by excursion trains until the 1960s.