One final photo from the Tyne and Wear Metro in 1980 as “Picture in Time” continues.
Ilford Road presents the complete Tyne and Wear Metro corporate image. The station was newly constructed on a site between South Gosforth to the north and West Jesmond to the south, roughly 0.7km from the former and 0.8km from the latter. As it was built on a greenfield site Ilford Road has quite narrow platforms and could not be provided with car parking, though it has its own clearly defined catchment area within a very short walking distance on both sides of the tracks. A very creditable 400,000 or so passengers use the station annually.
The roof of a standard Metro platform shelter is visible above the train and the amount of protection from the elements provided to Ilford Road passengers is very different from that afforded by the Tynemouth canopies. The yellow Metro image extended to the station nameboards.
4063 is pausing on its way down to Haymarket and looks to be carrying quite a healthy load of passengers. For the whole of the cars’ lives the front (and back) seats alongside the driver’s cab were highly-prized vantage points.
Words by Donald Brooks
Photograph by Donald Brooks, 4th October 2026