'Gricing' with history

Here's a nice old 'Valentines' postcard of Newcastle Central Station in the 1930's. Actually you can't see the station building - the artist or photographer must have been sitting on the roof to capture this view. But what you can see is the old castle 'keep' which was - and still is - sandwiched so tightly into this juncion that you could look right down the chimney of passing locomotives on both sides from the roof.

Some people must have paid their sixpence to admire Norman military architecture but the rest of us used to head up there for the high quality trainspooting it offered. The line coming in on the left is from Edinburgh and the artist has painted an A4 arriving on an 'up' express from Scotland. Apart from the fact that A4's were green in my day this is how I remember the 'Flying Scotsman' or 'Elizabethan' looking here.

On the far left a Tyneside Electric unit is creeping out, waiting for a clear road through to Manors Junction and on to Whitley Bay and the coast.

The line to the right is to Sunderland over Stephenson's High Level Bridge. Until the new King Edward Bridge was opened, I think in 1905, trains from London would enter the station this way and then reverse out to continue to Scotland.

These crossovers were once 'state of the art' magnesium steel but all that has long gone as the trains are less frequent and much lighter. But I'm happy to say that - as far as I know - you can still climb to the top of that castle 'keep' to watch trains.