North Tyneside Loop

North Tyneside Loop
Before Metro conversion  Cullercoats Tynemouth Whitley Bay North Shields Monkseaton West Monkseaton Percy Main Blyth and Tyne Railway to Percy Main Riverside loop Howdon Willington Quay Wallsend Point Pleasant Walkergate Carville Backworth Walker Benton Junction on East Coast Main Line St. Anthonys Benton St. Peters Heaton Junction on East Coast Main Line Byker Heaton Riverside loop Longbenton Gosforth Car Sheds Ponteland Railway East Coast Main Line South Gosforth West Jesmond Jesmond Quayside Branch New Bridge Street Manors to South Shields High Level Bridge over the River Tyne Newcastle Central

The North Tyneside Loop refers to the railway lines in North Tyneside from Newcastle upon Tyne via Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Backworth, Benton and South Gosforth back to Newcastle. Since the 1980s, it has formed part of the Tyne and Wear Metro, albeit in modified form.

History

The loop emerged from two competing railways which were built from Newcastle to Tynemouth, and was not completed until 1909: the southern leg of what became the loop was built by the Newcastle and North Shields Railway in 1839 from Newcastle Central via Wallsend; although initially terminating at North Shields, it was extended to Tynemouth in 1847. The northern leg was built by the Blyth and Tyne Railway in 1861 from Newcastle New Bridge Street to Tynemouth via Benton, although the original Blythe & Tyne route ran on a more inland course to Tynemouth from Monkseaton.^[1]

Initially both railways had separate terminus stations at Tynemouth,^[2] but both lines had been taken over by the North Eastern Railway (NER) by the 1870s. In 1882, the NER built a new coastal route from Monkseaton to Tynemouth via Whitley Bay, abandoning the original Blythe & Tyne inland route, and this allowed both legs of the route to join head on at Tynemouth, where a new through station was opened. However the loop was still not completed, as the northern and southern legs of the route still ran into separate unconnected termini at Newcastle.^[1]

Electrification

The line was electrified (as the Tyneside Electrics) by the NER in 1904 to fight competition from the newly-built electric tramways. In 1909 the loop was finally completed when the original Blythe & Tyne terminus at New Bridge Street was closed and a line built to connect the northern leg of the route to an extended Manors station.^[1]. However the route was de-electrified in 1967, and converted to diesel multiple unit operation.^[3]

Tyne and Wear Metro

In the late 1970s the lines were converted to form the Tyne and Wear Metro, which opened in stages beginning in 1980. Both lines were diverted underground on the approach to Newcastle, so that the southern leg of the line via Wallsend no longer serves Central Station; both lines now cross at a new station at Monument.^[4]

See also

• Riverside Branch

References

1. 1 2 3 Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. pp. 11–14. ISBN 1-871944-20-1. 
2. ↑ "Tynemouth station (4th)". Disused Stations. 
3. ↑ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. p. 20. ISBN 1-871944-20-1. 
4. ↑ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. p. 91. ISBN 1-871944-20-1.