Freight on the Tyne and Wear Metro

[Percy Main]

I was aware of (and remember) BR freight trains on the ex-Ponteland branch to Fawdon and Callerton, but always understood these travelled via the mainline and the south-west curve at Benton. However, I have recently read of such trains travelling via South Gosforth, the former Jesmond (NER) station track, and then onto BR at Manors. Can this be correct? Has anyone seen a photo of such a working?

[Trestrol]

Don't think the wires were high enough to do that. Also there was no main line connection, as the line through old Jesmond Station tunnels underground to create a curve to Manors Metro. Freight trains could access the metro between Chillingham Road and Walkergate to access Parsons.

[Percy Main]

I didn't know that about Parsons either! Any photos?

[Trestrol]

No unfortunately. The connection was near the old Heaton signal box. That's not the control tower that's still used today. There were sidings up to Walkergate station if I remember correctly to serve other factories further along.

[Percy Main]

Can anyone point me to a track plan of the Metro in its early days?

[Caledonian]

Don't have a track plan, but as I recall it was a single crossover put in at the insistence of the City Council to the east of Chillingham Road Station which accessed a siding. Effectively it was never used and was lifted very early on. I have a vague recollection of annoyance at the unnecessary expence.

[Caledonian]

Anent other routes, as Testrol points out, from the very outset the link to British Rail at Manors was severed very early on, but what might be confusing things is that although the Metro running line diverges from the from the old north-south route just north of the old Jesmond Station to plunge into a tunnel to Haymarket and beyond, what we call the Manors Spur carries on south as far as New Bridge Street where it dives into a tunnel to link up with the east-west running line immediately east of the Manors Metro Station. This is a single track affair which isn't open to passenger services and is only used for stock positioning. However in the early days, during Metro construction, the Manors North Yard [now occupied by Northumbria University] was a major equipping depot and engineering trains ran north from it through Old Jesmond to South Gosforth and beyond, which may explain stories of freight trains.

Incidentally, its a long time since I've been down there, but I do remember that the cutting walls north of the yard had painted marks, no doubt going back to North Eastern days, indicating to drivers how many wagon lengths north of the yard throat.

[third-rail]

The metro cars where towed up from Birmingham as I did see a rake 6 or 8 units passing through manors on the main line going north one day when I was on the roof of the telephone exchange for delivery to gosforth car sheds via south west curve i assume