Monkseaton

[Percy Main]

Does anyone remember the bay platform (south face of the up platform) being used by passenger trains?

[Trestrol]

I can remember goods vans in it in the seventies but not old enough for anything before that. I have a picture copied from fleebay with 1937 electrics stabled in it and also a class 24 apushing a diesel brake tender through the station. But i don't own the copyright i can't post it.

[Percy Main]

I can remember goods vans in it in the seventies but not old enough for anything before that. I have a picture copied from fleebay with 1937 electrics stabled in it and also a class 24 apushing a diesel brake tender through the station. But i don't own the copyright i can't post it.

But the Class 24 isn't in the bay platform road as that was not a through line?

[Dixie]

I regularly used the station in the 1950s. The south bay usually had a parcels van(s) it. I have a photo taken in 1938 which shows an old 6 wheeled engineers vehicle on the east side of the bay. I also have another photo showing a V1 tank leaving the westernmost line in the bay pulling two parcels vans.

I also recall that the siding behind the western platform was little used but I did see some electric stock in it occasionally. There was no public access to this bay due to the paling fence.

[Trestrol]

I can remember goods vans in it in the seventies but not old enough for anything before that. I have a picture copied from fleebay with 1937 electrics stabled in it and also a class 24 apushing a diesel brake tender through the station. But i don't own the copyright i can't post it.

But the Class 24 isn't in the bay platform road as that was not a through line?

Sorry didn't explain it well, The 1937 electric was in the bay platform and is well off the platform end.

[billdonald]

The bay platform at Monkseaton was only used for parcels workings. To the best of my knowledge it was never used for any passenger workings. This bay was electrified from new - the existinbg Monkseaton station dates from 1915. Most of the electrically operated parcels workings ran anti-clockwise through Wallsend and terminated in this bay. The 1915 station had an extensive parcels office, hence the use of this bay.

The line on the opposite side of the station wasn't a bay at all. There was no passenger access to this, which was referred to by the staff as the Back Road. Its primary purpose as to act as a headshut for either of the standage sidings or movements from Hillheads yard. This avoided occupation of the up line during shunting. Sometimes if both standage sidings were full of electric stock, the Back Road would be used as an overflow berth. Although a single line in the Hillheads yard was electrified, it wasn't used for electric stock as this prevented access to the water crane, required for the steam-operated Blyth workings. Also, this line was rather leaky electrically and the Monkseatonn signalmen were reluctant to operate the siding switch.

[Percy Main]

The line on the opposite side of the station wasn't a bay at all. There was no passenger access to this, which was referred to by the staff as the Back Road. Its primary purpose as to act as a headshut for either of the standage sidings or movements from Hillheads yard. This avoided occupation of the up line during shunting. Sometimes if both standage sidings were full of electric stock, the Back Road would be used as an overflow berth. Although a single line in the Hillheads yard was electrified, it wasn't used for electric stock as this prevented access to the water crane, required for the steam-operated Blyth workings. Also, this line was rather leaky electrically and the Monkseatonn signalmen were reluctant to operate the siding switch.

I think we are both referring to the same line - the one behind the south up platform. When you say it wasn't a bay and there was no passenger access to it, was that because of the fence? The platform was an island and the south face was intended for the Colywell Bay service. Disused Railways suggests the fence was a late (1960s?) addition.

[third-rail]

there was also at one time athird line between the two runnig lines . evidence of that appeared when the landscaping between the two lines was removed revealing all the sleeper indentations