We have another photo from the Tyne and Wear Metro in this latest edition of \u201cPicture in Time\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Tynemouth, with its extensive glazed canopies and platforms of a length more suited to main line expresses than a couple of Metrocars, demonstrated more than anywhere else the difficulties of accommodating a very traditional station to modern Metro use. The problem was exacerbated at Tynemouth by the fact that the 1882 NER station, designed by its chief architect William Bell, had been Grade 2 listed in 1978.<\/p>\n
When the Metro first opened and services from Haymarket terminated at Tynemouth, only platform 2, the one by the barriers, was in use. Metro conversion work had taken place in stages, with Manors to West Monkseaton the first section to close to BR diesel services, back in January 1978. West Monkseaton to Tynemouth followed in September 1979, meaning that Tynemouth was no longer served by any trains from the north, though dmus continued to operate from Tynemouth to Newcastle via North Shields and Wallsend along the south side of the North Tyne loop.\u00a0 When the Metro opened, Tynemouth station remained almost unchanged from BR days and walking into it was more akin to entering a museum than a modern Metro facility.<\/p>\n
In the picture the poster advertises the withdrawal of services between Tynemouth and Newcastle via Wallsend and closure of the intermediate stations from Monday 11th August, the day Metro services from Newcastle via Whitley Bay began, to allow Metro conversion to start on the section parallel to the Tyne, thereby completing the loop. Before reaching the Metro barriers, which were only for passengers already in possession of a valid ticket, the old BR ticket gate still had to be negotiated, perhaps a reminder of the DMU service that North Tyneside residents were doubtless delighted to see replaced. Scottish Opera were presenting a very extensive programme at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle; today they no longer tour south of the border.<\/p>\n
Words by Donald Brooks<\/em><\/p>\n
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