Early days of the Tyne & Wear Metro

[geordieblue]

Some stuff. Early publicity brochures, first timetables etc plus brochures on proposed extensions.

Bit late, but any chance of uploading the interiors of the extension brochures? Would be interesting to see how they planned to get to Killingworth!

 

[APT618S]

The first lines opened, Haymarket - Tynemouth and Haymarket - Bankfoot had a few stations less than today. there was no stations at Kingston Park, Palmersville or Northumberland Park. Something like a 4 or 5 minute dash from Benton to Shiremoor alongside the British Rail freights heading to/from the Blyth & Tyne.
The line from Heworth to South Shields also never had a station at Pelaw when it opened.

Also remember the Rowntrees freights running through from Fawdon via Four Lane Ends heading to the Benton curve. Great to see 31's at Four Lane Ends..

There is an original map showing this in the link below. Also Gateshead Stadium was going to be originally called Old Fold.

Transit Maps: Historical Map: Tyne and Wear Metro, 1981

A beautiful early map for this system, clearly showing how much of it was planned from the start. Apart from a few name changes (the proposed “Old Fold” station became Gateshead Stadium, for exampl…

transitmap.net

 

[John Griffiths]

I had aT-shirt with the official map of the system as originally opened on it. Unfortunately long consigned to the bin, and Nexus no longer do such items (Boo!).

 

[tavistock]

Pity this plan for the west end of Newcastle and Gateshead never came to pass

 

[hacman]

Pity this plan for the west end of Newcastle and Gateshead never came to pass

Never an official plan sadly. But there are ambitions for something similar to the red route in that image.

It has, however, been strongly suggested that some or all of it would be a separate tram line, with coherent branding to give the impression of one system.

 

[stut]

I used to catch the metro from Ilford Road to South Gosforth to go to school way back in the early 80s - when the line was just South Gosforth to Haymarket. It was 4p for a child fare, 8p for an adult fare - I remember my Mum being annoyed that the flat child fare (it was originally half fare) put mine up from 4p to 5p!

Other memories:

• The whirr of the original station destination blinds. They were on a reel, and if there was an obscure destination they'd go forever!
• Old Fold station became Gateshead Stadium. It was miles from the stadium, though.
• The rocking motion on the long stretch from Benton to Shiremoor, when the driver pushed the speed, was something else.
• The old rubber-covered door buttons. They were awful, and broke all the time. Saw lots of people overcarried because of them.
• The special wallet with a plastic ticket inside that my Mum got to take my sister's pushchair through the wide barrier.
• The little shuttle bus from Bank Foot to the airport.
• Didn't the red line trains at Benton disappear up the old chord to the ECML?
• The crowds of schoolkids in the stations (Regent Centre and Jesmond, I'm looking at you).
• ABCD 12345. Choose 5 if you want to "do the loop".
• Going to the service centre at South Gosforth to get your "I'm under 16, honest" ID card.
• Asking for Transfare tickets on buses to various looks of confusion.
• The ramshackle state of the pre-refurb coastal stations (and the excellent barber at South Shields).
• The daaaaaaaa buzzer, followed by the hydraulic ptscchhhhhhh.
• Monument will always be a diamond to me.
• The excitement of sitting in a cab (and selecting your destination) at the Gateshead Garden Festival.

 

[Failed Unit]

Yes the Benton trains did go up the loop towards the ECML to reverse.

 

[edwin_m]

Yes the Benton trains did go up the loop towards the ECML to reverse.

That was the remains of the north to west curve - was it intended to be the jumping off point for a Killingworth extension? The south to west curve was initially kept (along with a through line round the back of the depot) for freight trains to Rowntrees near Fawdon and an ICI plant out Callerton way. The south to east curve is still there, being the start of the line towards Blyth that runs alongside Metro but isn't connected to it. There never was a north to east curve as far as I'm aware.

 

[swt_passenger]

There never was a north to east curve as far as I'm aware.

I think it looks as if the building line for the housing development in the area was set to allow for a possible north to east curve but it was never proceeded with. There were no maps showing it in place when I looked in the usual websites a few years ago.

 

[SteveP29]

I think I first went to Newcastle and first rode on the Metro in 1983 when I was 8. In those days it was a 5p flat fare for children!

Also in the early days, until bus deregulation in 1986, the buses and Metro were integrated and there were interavailable tickets covering both modes.

That was amazing, travelling from Birtley to Newcastle for 5p (mother paid 45p)
Mind you, they STILL to this day "we paid for that with our rates, why didn't it come out to Birtley?"

I did actually think of a great idea years ago.
When Leverton at Birtley closed, that could have been converted to an interchange, the 2 'freight' lines from Pelaw Grange to Tyne Yard had just been removed, the line could have run along there into Gateshead (how it joined up with the underground section I have no idea. Going the other way, it could have run along the Consett- Follingsby line from Barley Mow, across Victoria Viaduct into Washington to put them on the network and also split just before the viaduct to join on what is now in situ at South Hylton.

My first memories of the Metro are of the construction of Monument station and the hoardings in the centre of Newcastle while shopping.

Walking along Grainger Street under the scaffolding while they strengthened the existing buildings while cutting the tunnels, it took forever to get anywhere, my parents developed ingenious ways of moving round the town to avoid them (they always parked at Manors multi storey when we went to Newcastle)

That is very very interesting! Wonder if any Tyne Tees archives from back then still exist, and where? Not as if we could nip across to City Road (via the Egypt!)

I doubt there's anything of TTTV left on City Road now that they're down at the Metro Centre (and considerably smaller premises)

The theory was that the 'last mile' in to Newcastle city centre was usually the most traffic-congested and hence slowest part of the journey. So even with the extra time needed for the interchange (walking between transports, waiting for it to arrive, etc) it would still be faster that staying on the bus. Especially at busy times - rush hours, Saturday afternoon shopping close to Christmas, etc.

But some passengers did not like the enforced interchanging, especially senior citizens who are less mobile than younger people and hence very much prefer a 'one seat' journey - even if it means a longer overall journey duration.

It was a novelty for me at 10 years old to travel into Gateshead on the bus, then go on a 'train' into Newcastle, especially since we went underground to do so.
I do seem to recall it was considerably quicker than the bus as EVERY bus went through the cut through (Hills Street) from Askew Road to The Tyne Bridge, it also cut out the walk from Worswick Street to Monument.

Never an official plan sadly. But there are ambitions for something similar to the red route in that image.

It has, however, been strongly suggested that some or all of it would be a separate tram line, with coherent branding to give the impression of one system.

I believe plans for NUFC to extend SJP on the Gallowgate End would have made provision for a minor reconstruction/ realignment of St James metro station to allow possible future expansion of the network, but the wonderful Mr Ashley sold his freehold on the car park for development (currently fenced off and not in use I saw on a You Tube video the other day) and that means it'll now be nigh on impossible

 

[danielnez1]

I believe plans for NUFC to extend SJP on the Gallowgate End would have made provision for a minor reconstruction/ realignment of St James metro station to allow possible future expansion of the network, but the wonderful Mr Ashley sold his freehold on the car park for development (currently fenced off and not in use I saw on a You Tube video the other day) and that means it'll now be nigh on impossible

I think Nexus had the ambition of using the space around the car park as a access ramp for trams to access the tunnels (correct me if I'm wrong). Ideally any extension west should be done using the overrun tunnels (as originality intended), as they are not affected by the developments next to St James park. It is a shame that the opportunity of a one station extension westward (even if the extension tunnels rose up and a new station was done as cut and cover) was not looked at when Newcastle Helix was being planned.

 

[AutoKratz]

The original ‘80s plan was for the tunnel at St. James to emerge on-street and run as a tram through the West End. A tunnelled extension was ruled out from the get-go - cost prohibitive due to the geology in the west of the city.

The Metrocars were designed for street running, only requiring minor modifications, and were originally referred to as “supertrams”. I think it’s a real shame this never happened. Tram operation in the west was part of the the reason the ‘pre-Metro’ solution was chosen - not quite a tram not quite a full European-style Metro.

 

[pinkmarie80]

Really interesting topic!

My mum tells me she took me on the Metro in my pushchair when I was a baby (I was born in 1980, a few months after the system opened) and she says it was absolutely horrendous trying to navigate the system with a buggy. Her family lived in North Shields so I imagine that’s where we were going. That would have been my first taste of the Metro although I don’t remember it!

A ride on the Metro was always a treat as we lived nowhere near a Metro station- but I remember the orange diamond pattern moquette on the seats, the smell of the train (they had their own sort of smell) the grey springy things to hold onto it you were standing, the closing door buzzer, and being absolutely terrified of St James’ Park station as it was so dark and dingy. And there never seemed to be anyone around!

We moved house when I was 17 to somewhere that was very close to two Metro stations- I could watch the Metros passing through the windows- and the noise at first was unbearable as we lived near a level crossing where the trains blew their horns as they went through.However the convenience was brilliant- it was so easy and quick to get anywhere.

I was easily spooked though when travelling on the Metro- I used to work in a hotel at the Airport and often had to get the Metro late at night from Callerton Parkway when I was often the only person around. There was some problem one night and there was a voice came over the tannoy ‘to the person on the platform at Callerton Parkway’ I about jumped out of my skin and took off back to the hotel where the night receptionist had to call me a taxi home!

 

[Volvictof]

Really interesting topic!

My mum tells me she took me on the Metro in my pushchair when I was a baby (I was born in 1980, a few months after the system opened) and she says it was absolutely horrendous trying to navigate the system with a buggy. Her family lived in North Shields so I imagine that’s where we were going. That would have been my first taste of the Metro although I don’t remember it!

A ride on the Metro was always a treat as we lived nowhere near a Metro station- but I remember the orange diamond pattern moquette on the seats, the smell of the train (they had their own sort of smell) the grey springy things to hold onto it you were standing, the closing door buzzer, and being absolutely terrified of St James’ Park station as it was so dark and dingy. And there never seemed to be anyone around!

We moved house when I was 17 to somewhere that was very close to two Metro stations- I could watch the Metros passing through the windows- and the noise at first was unbearable as we lived near a level crossing where the trains blew their horns as they went through.However the convenience was brilliant- it was so easy and quick to get anywhere.

I was easily spooked though when travelling on the Metro- I used to work in a hotel at the Airport and often had to get the Metro late at night from Callerton Parkway when I was often the only person around. There was some problem one night and there was a voice came over the tannoy ‘to the person on the platform at Callerton Parkway’ I about jumped out of my skin and took off back to the hotel where the night receptionist had to call me a taxi home!

Having grown up on the metros in the early 90s I know exactly the smell you’re talking about. I’m actually a driver now and there is only one place where I have been able to catch a whiff of that same smell, if I have my cab window open leaving North Shields towards Tynemouth just as I’m pulling away from the station and entering the tunnel. It brings back so many memories.

 

[rg177]

Having grown up on the metros in the early 90s I know exactly the smell you’re talking about. I’m actually a driver now and there is only one place where I have been able to catch a whiff of that same smell, if I have my cab window open leaving North Shields towards Tynemouth just as I’m pulling away from the station and entering the tunnel. It brings back so many memories.

I wonder if it's related to the distinct damp smell that comes from the lift motor room areas on both platforms?

Shortly before I left Metro I was called to investigate the station lighting going off at North Shields and behind both header walls there was a smell I was somewhat nostalgic about but couldn't put my finger on why...!

 

[DunsBus]

A couple of years before the station at Kingston Park opened a PTE Atlantean (120, EJR120W) came to grief at the level crossing there after its driver attempted to beat the lights and was hit by a Metro set being led by Metrocar 4083. Thankfully there were no passengers on the bus but the passengers and driver of the Metro sustained minor injuries. 4083 was repaired but the Atlantean, needless to say, was a write-off.

 

[OVS Flatbottom]

A couple of years before the station at Kingston Park opened a PTE Atlantean (120, EJR120W) came to grief at the level crossing there after its driver attempted to beat the lights and was hit by a Metro set being led by Metrocar 4083. Thankfully there were no passengers on the bus but the passengers and driver of the Metro sustained minor injuries. 4083 was repaired but the Atlantean, needless to say, was a write-off.

Railway Inspectorate report here: https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_BruntonLane1983.pdf

 

[Olympian]

Some pictures:

TWPTE Accident

On 22nd March 1983 I was a student in Newcastle and heard on Metro Radio that there had been an accident between a Metro train and a bus at Brunton Lane Level Crossing the report stated that there had been no injuries so I decided to go and have a look, had there been injuries I would have...

www.flickr.com

Oops

This was what happened when a bus driver tried to beat a Metro train at the level crossing at Kingston Park. Luckily there were no serious casualties. 22nd March 1983.

www.flickr.com

 

[jkkne]

I remember when they had North East celebrities do the 'doors closing' voices and ran a competition.

Fairly sure it ended up being Mike Neville

 

[danielnez1]

The original ‘80s plan was for the tunnel at St. James to emerge on-street and run as a tram through the West End. A tunnelled extension was ruled out from the get-go - cost prohibitive due to the geology in the west of the city.

The Metrocars were designed for street running, only requiring minor modifications, and were originally referred to as “supertrams”. I think it’s a real shame this never happened. Tram operation in the west was part of the the reason the ‘pre-Metro’ solution was chosen - not quite a tram not quite a full European-style Metro.

TWPTE/Nexus did borehole sampling south west of St. James in 1973 (IIRC it followed a sharp South West route towards Scotswood road).