Tyneside Electric - History Before Electrification

History Before Electrification

The line through Jesmond, Benton and on to Tynemouth was opened in the 1860s by the Blyth and Tyne Railway (B&T), and the line through Wallsend by the Newcastle and North Shields Railway in 1839. The portion of the East Coast Main Line to Benton had been opened by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway in the 1840s. The Newcastle Quayside Branch had been opened by the NER in 1873, and the Riverside Branch in 1879. The junctions at South Gosforth dated back to 1905 and were laid for the Gosforth and Ponteland Branch.

The original B&T terminus in Newcastle was at New Bridge Street. Thus the original electrified route was not quite a loop. Electric services ran from New Bridge Street until 1908 when a replacement station was built at Manors. The existing station at Manors that served the lines to Heaton was renamed Manors East while the new station was named Manors North. The electric service continued to terminate here until 1917, when full out-and-back circular running to and from Newcastle Central station began and Manors North no longer functioned as a major terminal for electric services. The section of line that closed up the loop from a new junction at Manors (East) and effectively by-passing New Bridge Street station had been laid in 1905. Some services from Newcastle Central to Benton did start running over the new section of line after the opening of Manors North station.

Electrification of the South Tyneside line from Newcastle via Heworth to South Shields was announced by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935 and electric services began in the spring of 1938.