Jonathan1973 wrote:Thank you for the latest photos of Manors. The BR service to Tynemouth via Wallsend continued until August 1980 (I think it was the 10th or 11th), with the Metro service to Haymarket via Benton commencing the following day. From your pictures, it does look as though some effort was made to continue using the ticket cabin - there is definitely a hole in the plywood where the ticket window (with bars), was situated. Are we also assuming that the entrance/exit from Platform 9 (via the long flight of stairs), to Melbourne Street was permanently disused by the late 70's? I guess that when it was in use, there was some facility for the collection and issuing of tickets on Platform 9. What we really need (as Crosslea says), is someone who either worked at the station or used it everyday during the late 1970's, to read these posts and comment.
Regarding the flight of stairs direct to platform 9 the first time I used the station would have been late 75-early 76 and I cannot remember ever seeing this entrance open.The windows were covered in filth and I doubt the staircase would have been useable except by Time Team.
As for the signalbox, I think there are some photos on disusedstations.org which show it was derelict shortly after the wholesale demolition in late 1979 - off the top of my head I think it had a concrete roof so it was probably simply too difficult to demolish given it's close proximity to the track.
thinking about the signal box it could have housed all the relays for the signal and the air operated points in the manors area,by the way the air reciever for the points still exists insitu.
third-rail wrote:thinking about the signal box it could have housed all the relays for the signal and the air operated points in the manors area,by the way the air reciever for the points still exists insitu.
Unlikely.They'd have been in Newcastle box or in the lineside locations.Since the box was in use until the Newcastle 1959 resignalling it's basement would have been full of gear which would have had to be stripped out to make room for new relays, hardly practical when you need to change over in one weekend. Plus if it had sensitive gear downstairs it wouldn't have been allowed to become derelict upstairs with busted windows which would allow water in.
Glad the photographs were appreciated. Thanks for comments. There are a few more pics to be unearthed, when I have time. Don't get too excited, there aren't many.
Like Pinza, I can confirm that the platform 9 exit was disused. By 1978, it looked as if the gates hadn't been opened for a very long time. I would have loved to have walked down those stairs. We've seen photos to prove that the main staircase to the 7/8 entrance was gutted to make way for a possible restaurant. Could the platform 9 stairs still exist within the structure or were they removed too?
Sadly, the long flight of stairs up to Platform 9 would also appear to have been stripped-out. There are some photographs of the interior of the Melbourne Street entrance, taken within the last three-or-so years on a north-eastern urban exploration website. The tiled passageways are still extant, although I imagine relatively inaccessible without the stairs. Regarding the booking office on Platforms 7 & 8, the Transport Ticket Society's Ultimatic Checklist (try saying that quickly!), indicates that tickets were issued from what had been Manors East's ticket office throughout the 1970's. When the 'Tynerail' brand was removed from tickets (in 1976), only the day and month were stamped on the ticket upon issue, along with the fare paid. Consequently there won't be any tickets floating around, issued by that office (bearing the 'E.O.' code), showing a date of later than 1976 and proving that it was open until 1980. I'll try and attach a couple of pictures of earlier tickets issued from the main office - they may bring back some memories.
sorry can not recollect seeing those tickets,but ican tell you that it was 2/9d return from south gosforth to any coast sta.
coast sta where..... west monkseaton ,monkseaton,whitley bay, cullercoats, tynemouth, and north shields.if you bought a ticket at the central or manors you could travel either way round.
PinzaC55 wrote:Just curious (as the tickets seem to have identical validities) why the 1976 ticket is cheaper than the 1975 one?
You have to read it literally. It's a ticket to any station shown on the fares list at that fare. In other words these are tickets to two different destinations. The ticket collector at the other end would know how much the fare from Manors was. Just like a bus ticket.
Ah I see...it seems a very strange way to do business though given that I'm sure places like Backworth wouldn't have had anyone collecting tickets? I only used Backworth once but I'm sure there was nobody there.
At least officially all the north Tyneside stations were manned until the end. Even at the Riverside stations a ticket seller/collector would turn up just before the train was due.
As Percy states, the fare structure of the north Tyne loop of the Tynerider/Tynerail system was (after 1970), such that all destinations on the loop were served by a range of ten tickets with values from 1p to 10p. Consequently tickets were not issued to specific destinations, but with a given value. Manors to Jesmond might cost 1p, with Manors to Tynemouth costing 10p. The values of the tickets obviously increased with inflation over time, until 1976 when the format changed and the destination was once again marked on the ticket. I'll add a couple more pictures - with the later format tickets (it changed twice during the later 1970's). I'm not sure what the situation was with inter-city, or other local tickets outside the north Tyne loop. I suppose that the entire ticketing system relied on someone collecting and checking used tickets, as people left their destination. With the exception of the all night, flat rate service during the 1970's (when the stations were open but un-staffed), I am unaware of BR providing their trains with traveling ticket inspectors. I appreciate that this is getting rather off-topic. To return to the main subject, I recall that in the late 1980's the Platform situation at Manors was thus; the former Platforms 6 (to Cramlington etc.) & 7 (to Central), were in situ and in use. Platform 8 was still there but unused, along with a very degraded Platform 9. A short stretch of the original footbridge was in place, (with I think a new deck), but the original stairs. Perhaps BR originally intended to maintain Platform 6, and consequently built the solid if rather bleak breeze block shelter. This was all changed in the early 90's, when the station was rebuilt in its present island form.
A great clip, very interesting to hear the driver talking about the various points between Newcastle and Heaton, especially about the Riverside branch but also interesting to see the Manors platforms as I remember them (line to Jesmond) when I visited with my father.
