Tyne And Wear Metro The Musical

[flymo]

btw your post makes me feel old!

You're not the only one.... I can still remember rattling round the Tyne loop and down to South Shields on the old DMU's.

 

[HST Power]

Ah, the DMU...

 

[sprinterguy]

I never thought to take any photos at Seaburn station unfortunately, as it was just “the local station” and at the time it didn’t strike me as being worth photographing. I wish I had now of course; the old wooden planked platforms gave it quite a nice atmosphere I always thought when waiting for a train. I’ve got a couple of pictures in a book of Seaburn station “the way it was” before the Metros, but that’s about it.

There’s a member on this forum called PinzaC55, haven’t noticed him on here for a couple of months, but he has quite a few photos of the north east railway scene in the mid eighties and he has a flickr stream which might be worth a look for pictures of Seaburn.

 

[Royston Vasey]

A few from Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scot4472/5169256258/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3622535173/


And how about this gem! 140001 at Seaburn from PinzaC55's stream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3553321401/

 

[rmt-driver]

That is shocking dire !!

 

[Royston Vasey]

That is shocking dire !!

I never knew it had been trialled up there until seeing that picture!

MODS: could the general Sunderland extension discussion be split off from the first few posts about the musical?

 

[142094]

Although the video is a bit cringeworthy, still nice to see something was done to celebrate the anniversary and make a bit of money for charity. Anywhere else and there would have been a short press release and an article in the local rag.

 

[HST Power]

The black and white shot of the HST looks pretty good!

 

[jontylol]

Thats a nice photo of 140001, the whole photo is really quite atmospheric

And looking at other photos on his flickr stream its so odd to see Sunderland station with natural light haha! I only remember it being brick wall with bird poo on, much like now really haha

 

[HST Power]

And looking at other photos on his flickr stream its so odd to see Sunderland station with natural light haha! I only remember it being brick wall with bird poo on, much like now really haha

Nothing ever changes!

 

[spoony]

I live close to Stadium of Light Metro stop. For those that are from around these parts (of which I gather there are a few) In the street next to The Cambridge. I get the metro every day from SOL to either Haymarket or Regent Centre.

I go through periods of detesting the system to loving it. Most mornings I end up catching the 7.37, although a gripe of mine is that lately it has been leaving a couple of minutes early:-x Some mornings I actually will leave the house at 7.05 (25 minutes earlier than usual) and walk to Sunderland Central ans catch the 7.30 just to avoid the Metro. I take a smug sense of happiness as we speed past the Metro stops on nice comfy seats. Even 142s are a lot more comfortable than knocking knees with the passenger sat opposite on the Metro.
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As I am sure I've already said, the Metro service would be spot on if extra metro cars could have been built to coincide with the Sunderland extension.

Quite possibly. But the Metro extension was long overdue given that the people of Sunderland were contributing to the running and upkeep of a system on Tyneside.

 

[Anon Mouse]

If only they could have built it via Washington and had new builds of units and have an increased heavy rail service between Newcastle and Sunderland

 

[142094]

Quite possibly. But the Metro extension was long overdue given that the people of Sunderland were contributing to the running and upkeep of a system on Tyneside.

That same old chestnut has been going around for years - there are other places on Tyneside which were and still are nowhere near a Metro station and still fund it. Plus Nexus did subsidise the Newcastle - Sunderland line and there are subsidised buses on Wearside.

However I agree it should have been in the original plan to have the Metro to run to at least Sunderland and Washington should have been another priority. Most of the problems with traffic on the A1 and over the Tyne can be explained by a lack of good rail links south of Gateshead.

 

[spoony]

If only they could have built it via Washington and had new builds of units and have an increased heavy rail service between Newcastle and Sunderland

I would personally like to see Sunderland have improved heavy rail services to the rest of the country but the "core" business seems to be getting people from along the line, and also from connecting bus services into Newcastle. I have also noticed that the Metro cars seem to be fuller heading into Sunderland on a morning. I have no problem with Washington getting a metro service struggle t0 see where any town centre station would be located. Personally I feel nexus would have been better off routing the Metro some how to Doxford Park then onto Houghton.
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That same old chestnut has been going around for years - there are other places on Tyneside which were and still are nowhere near a Metro station and still fund it. Plus Nexus did subsidise the Newcastle - Sunderland line and there are subsidised buses on Wearside.

However I agree it should have been in the original plan to have the Metro to run to at least Sunderland and Washington should have been another priority. Most of the problems with traffic on the A1 and over the Tyne can be explained by a lack of good rail links south of Gateshead.

One that will always be discussed in these parts. In all honesty though you could debate this till the cows come home. People in Houghton, Hetton, Washington, or any one still in Tyne & Wear but no where near the system are paying for it but getting little or no use out of it.

 

[142094]

Only way I think we'll see Metros running to places where a railway isn't already in existance is if Project Orpheus is brought back to life and tram-trains start running.

 

[me123]

Jeez, that was a scary video...

I've always liked the T&W Metro. It's a bit like the Glasgow Subway; dinky little trains that do the job and nothing more. Although I like it out of interest, it really does deserve to get newer rolling stock, (from what I've heard) longer trains, and a whole new refresh. It doesn't seem to have changed at all since the '80s, and the area deserves a lot better.

Still, to all those who are moaning about it, consider yourselves lucky. So many cities up and down the UK have absolutely nothing like it. It makes a valuable contribution to the region as a whole and, even though it has its shortcomings, you're lucky to have it.

 

[spoony]

Only way I think we'll see Metros running to places where a railway isn't already in existance is if Project Orpheus is brought back to life and tram-trains start running.

Unlikely but hopefully one day in the future. This future may be nearer than we think though. I think there will come a tipping point soon where it no longer viable for people to run personal cars like they do. I think we en up going back to rail like in the 19th century. This is a different debate though.
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Jeez, that was a scary video...

I've always liked the T&W Metro. It's a bit like the Glasgow Subway; dinky little trains that do the job and nothing more. Although I like it out of interest, it really does deserve to get newer rolling stock, (from what I've heard) longer trains, and a whole new refresh. It doesn't seem to have changed at all since the '80s, and the area deserves a lot better.

Still, to all those who are moaning about it, consider yourselves lucky. So many cities up and down the UK have absolutely nothing like it. It makes a valuable contribution to the region as a whole and, even though it has its shortcomings, you're lucky to have it.

We like to moan though

 

[142094]

I petrol prices keep going up, which it seems as if they will, the next 2-3 years will be a critical time for the railways. Shame that half the infrastructure that was already in place/needed now isn't around.

Still, to all those who are moaning about it, consider yourselves lucky. So many cities up and down the UK have absolutely nothing like it. It makes a valuable contribution to the region as a whole and, even though it has its shortcomings, you're lucky to have it.

If no-one complains then nothing gets done! I don't complain often about the Metro, only thing I'd like to see is more staff on the trains, more thought about running different routes on the system and more capacity. The underground stations were designed to have extra space for longer trains, and a lot of the overground stations either already have the capacity or would need a bit of investment in lengthening the platforms.

 

[HST Power]

Jeez, that was a scary video...
I've always liked the T&W Metro. It's a bit like the Glasgow Subway; dinky little trains that do the job and nothing more. Although I like it out of interest, it really does deserve to get newer rolling stock, (from what I've heard) longer trains, and a whole new refresh. It doesn't seem to have changed at all since the '80s, and the area deserves a lot better.

You get full backing from me on that one! They are very much in need of new stock and longer services.

 

[Anon Mouse]

I still wonder what our suburban network would have been like without the Metro. Maybe we could of had 333's on the North Tyneside loop and 321's off to Whitley Bay. maybe 156's on Whitley Bay to Dumfries and Glasgow Central, 142's on North Shields to Morpeth workings and loco hauled specials to Whitley Bay from all over the network

 

[HST Power]

I still wonder what our suburban network would have been like without the Metro.

It wouldn't have been the same for me! It's a bit like marmite, but at the end of the day, I love it really!

 

[142094]

I still wonder what our suburban network would have been like without the Metro. Maybe we could of had 333's on the North Tyneside loop and 321's off to Whitley Bay. maybe 156's on Whitley Bay to Dumfries and Glasgow Central, 142's on North Shields to Morpeth workings and loco hauled specials to Whitley Bay from all over the network

I probably see it little better than when the diesels took over after de-electrification. I've always wondered what it would be like if the Tyneside Electrics were still around, the branchlines still running and stations like Manors the way they used to be.

 

[Eng274]

T-T-T-T-Tyne and Wear Metro...


Fantastic! I wish they'd play it at Edinburgh's Haymarket, just to boost passenger morale of a weekday morning

...B-B-B-BATHGATE...not much need to be there, but its got a cheaper fare..B-B-B-Bathgate

 

[HST Power]

I really wouldn't want that in my head on a Monday morning!

 

[spoony]

I just sat through the whole link posted earlier in this thread. Not only was it utterly cringe worthy (and as this is a polite forum I cant use the words I would like too), it also paid scant regard to the Sunderland extension. Which probably is a good thing in this case not to be as associated with that dross.