Manors railway station

Manors railway station is on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom, located in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. It is 269 miles 22 chains (433.4 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated between Newcastle to the south and Cramlington to the north. Its three-letter station code is MAS.

This article is about the main line station. For the Tyne and Wear Metro station of the same name, see Manors Metro station.

Manors
Manors railway station in 2012
Location
Place	Newcastle upon Tyne
Local authority	City of Newcastle upon Tyne
Coordinates	54.973°N 1.605°W / 54.973; -1.605
Grid reference	NZ252642
Operations
Station code	MAS
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	6,474
2015/16	7,614
2016/17	9,404
2017/18	9,068
2018/19	12,980
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Tyne and Wear (Nexus)
History
Original company	Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
1 July 1847 (1847-07-01)	Original station opened as Manors
1 January 1909	Renamed Manors East; adjacent station opened as Manors North
20 February 1969	Stations combined as Manors
23 January 1978	Former Manors North closed
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Manors from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station and all trains serving it are operated by Northern Trains. The Manors Tyne & Wear Metro station is located about 110 yards (100 m) away.

Manors was previously a much larger and more significant station at the junction of the main line and the line towards Gosforth. It had nine platforms. Most of the station was closed in 1978 when the Gosforth line was turned over to the Tyne and Wear Metro and the buildings were subsequently demolished to make way for offices.[1]

History

The original station named Manors was opened on 1 July 1847 by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway,[2] which amalgamated with the York and Newcastle Railway to form the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway a few weeks later. Manors station opened on 30 August 1850 to replace a temporary station that became a coal depot, and had two platforms on a bridge over Trafalgar Street. When the East Coast Main Line was widened to four tracks in 1887, an additional two platforms were built.[1]

On 1 January 1909,[2] the former Blyth and Tyne Railway terminus at New Bridge Street closed and the line was extended to join the East Coast Main Line between Manors and Newcastle Central. Manors North was opened on this line, with two through platforms and three bays. The original station was renamed Manors East.[2] The former station at New Bridge Street became a coal yard[3] which supplied customers in the east of the city.

When the two stations were combined on 20 February 1969,[2] Manors North formed platforms 1–5 and Manors East platforms 6–9.

From 1904 until 1967 the lines through the station were electrified as part of the Tyneside Electrics system with the third-rail (North Tyneside Loop) and a short overhead electrification from Trafalgar South yard (Newcastle Quayside branch). The East Coast Main Line was re-electrified in 1990. There were three signal boxes that controlled the approaches to the Manors area - Argyle Street (187? - 1964), Manors North (1909 - 1964), Manors Junction (1909 - 1964). A major re-signalling of the Newcastle district in 1964 resulted in the closure of these boxes. The original Manors Junction signal box was burnt out in 1943, and its replacement was at the western end of Manors East, between platforms 7 and 8.

In addition to the busy electric service to the coast, Manors was a terminus for trains to Morpeth, Blyth and Newbiggin. Although the Morpeth service had gone by BR days, the Blyth/Newbiggin passenger route survived until 1964.[4] In LNER days, the bay platforms were used as standage for electric sets and for short workings to Benton.

Reconstruction

Most platforms at Manors closed on 23 January 1978[2] to allow for the construction of the Tyne and Wear Metro. The station now has two platforms, on the site of the previous platforms 7 and 8. Other parts of the former station remain, including the heavily overgrown platforms 1 and 2 and parts of platform 9.[5] The station is unstaffed, and the only facilities are a shelter with a telephone, a bike rack and a ticket machine (card only). The platforms are reached by a footbridge rather than by the original subway, so the station is not accessible for wheelchair or mobility-impaired users.[6]

Manors station is very popular with railway photographers and enthusiasts because it lies in the middle of the tracks of the East Coast Main Line allowing very good views of passing trains, which include freight, passenger and empty stock movements to/from the maintenance depot at Heaton. The station received a new shelter, cycle racks, seats and a timetable information board in early 2015 as requested by a small group of enthusiasts.[7]

Accidents and incidents

• On 3 March 1913, an empty stock train was in a rear-end collision with an electric multiple unit due to a signalman's error. Forty-nine people were injured.[8]
• On 7 August 1926, an electric multiple unit overran signals and was in collision with a freight train. The driver had tied the controller down and thus the train was able to continue when he leant out of the train and was killed when he struck an overbridge.[9]

Services

Northern Trains Route 1: East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line to Edinburgh Chathill Alnmouth Acklington Widdrington Pegswood Morpeth Cramlington Manors Durham Coast Line to Middlesbrough Newcastle Tyne Valley Line to Carlisle East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross

There is a basic hourly service on Mondays to Saturdays operated by Northern Trains, which runs between Carlisle and Morpeth via Newcastle - one evening peak service continues through to Alnmouth and Chathill and the corresponding morning train from there also calls.[10] This runs right through the evening until end of service and is a noticeable improvement on the weekday peak-only service that the station formerly received in the 1980s, 90s & early 2000s.[11]

Since December 2017, the station is also served on Sundays, by the two-hourly Morpeth to MetroCentre trains.

The proposed Newcastle to Ashington Northumberland Line service, if introduced, has been proposed to call at Manors enroute from Newcastle to Benton North Junction, where the line diverges from the East Coast Main Line.[12]

Trivia

The station briefly featured in the 1971 film Get Carter, showing the long staircase from the Trafalgar Street entrance to Manors East.

See also

• Manors Metro station, the Adjacent Tyne & Wear metro station.

References

1. Disused Stations - Manors Disused Stations; Retrieved 2014-02-20
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 154. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/n/newcastle_new_bridge_street/
4. Disused Stations - Newbiggin Retrieved 2013-12-04
5. "Disused Stations - Manors North Station". Disused Stations Site Record. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
6. Manors station facilities National Rail Enquiries; retrieved 6 February 2017
7. "Manors Station - Community Group". Manors Station Twitter. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
8. Earnshaw, Alan (1993). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 8. Penryn: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-52-4.
9. Hoole, Ken (1982). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 3. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 26. ISBN 0-906899-05-2.
10. GB National Rail timetable May 2019, Table 48
11. GB National Rail Timetables 1988 & 1994 Editions, Table 47
12. "Plans to hook up Northumberland to Metro station via new rail link to return passenger train services from south-east of county to Newcastle". Berwick Advertiser. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.

External links

• Train times and station information for Manors railway station from National Rail
• Disused Stations - website including photographs of Manors station

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Newcastle		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line Mondays-Saturdays only		Cramlington
	Historical railways
Newcastle Central Line and station open		London and North Eastern Railway North Tyneside Loop		Jesmond Line and station closed
				Heaton Line open, station closed
Newcastle Central Line and station open		London and North Eastern Railway Riverside Branch		Byker Line and station closed
Newcastle Central Line and station open		London and North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Heaton Line open, station closed