Look back down the tracks of Metro’s past
DOZENS of old photographs have been unearthed that throw new light on Tyneside’s railway and Metro history.
The largely unseen images discovered by staff at Nexus capture scenes in South Gosforth from 100 years ago when a huge new depot was under construction. The building was the former home to Tyneside’s now largely forgotten electric trains. Then diesel engines were stored there, before the new Tyne and Wear Metro took up residence in 1980.
Now, the 100-year-old depot is in the process of being demolished, with the last of the buildings due to come down this summer. It will become home to a new state-of-the-art facility, costing £70m, that will become home to the new Metro train fleet next year.
The Gosforth depot may have looked unremarkable as Metro trains passed by it loaded with commuters, but it has been an essential facility at the heart of Metro operations, without it there would be no Tyne and Wear Metro service.
The building was first opened in 1923 by the London and North Eastern Railway. It was a replacement for a fire-damaged railway depot at Walkergate, and it has been home to rolling stock ever since.
The rediscovered images date from 1922 and 1923 and include the new depot under construction, internal and external shots, as well as views of railway lines stretching off across the wideopen spaces of South Gosforth. We have shared a selection of the photographs below.
The depot was originally home to Tyneside’s electric trains, which served the suburbs of Tyneside. The last electric train ran south of the river in 1963, and north of the river in June 1967.
Diesel trains were kept at the Gosforth depot for the following decade, but even then it was already being eyed up as a potential base for the new Metro system. When the project got the green light, British Rail duly handed it over to the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE).
The PTE, now Nexus, took over the site from British Rail in 1980. The depot’s location allowed for trains to access lines to the west near Regent Centre and to the east towards Long Benton.
A full refurbishment was needed to get it ready for the new shiny yellow Metro carriages. Works included the installation of overhead lines, inspection gantries, wheels lathes and lifting jacks.
Metro Operations Director, John Alexander, said: “Gosforth depot has been the proud home of Metro for four decades. It was purpose-built for trains and the planners who devised Metro saw it as the best place to store and maintain the fleet. This depot site will continue to be Metro’s home, but the old buildings are being demolished in phases as the new depot starts to take shape. This will be a modern new home for our new trains and I am sure our customers are just as excited as our staff to see this transformation over the coming year.”
The Gosforth depot site covers 12 acres and is located close to Regent Centre station in the suburbs of Newcastle.