“Picture in Time” is back today as we continue to take a look at some images from the past on the Tyne and Wear Metro. At a time when we are preparing to welcome a complete new fleet of trains into service even though these photos aren’t from a long time ago they still show a piece of history which will soon be gone.
In this article we go back to the 30th anniversary of the system in 2010 which on 8th August included an Open Day at Gosforth Depot (it had been hoped that a similar event would take place for the 40th anniversary but was in 2020 and we all know what happened that year worldwide instead!). Giving the public a rare chance to see behind the scenes it also enabled people to see some of the vehicles which are rarely seen outside as well as to get up close and personal to the driver’s cabs.
To most the driver’s cabs on the Metrocars are a place of mystery never to be seen. Situated just in the corner of the front and back of the unit the doors are normally firmly shut but the Open Day gave the chance to see what is in the rather cramped enclosure. The below photo shows the cab of prototype 4001.
Some of the engineering vehicles could also be seen during the event. This is one of the battery locomotives at rest in the main depot building. BL3 was the third and final of these vehicles built by Hunslet in 1988, the other two being numbered BL1 and BL2. The locos now see very little use with at least two of them believed to have been formally withdrawn.
Both Photographs by Trevor Hall, 8th August 2010