https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Heaths-History-Page/173472422695696 http://www.ceepackaging.com twitter : @ceepackaging https://www.facebook.com/pages/CEE-Packaging/135108923181666 The Tyneside metro began operating in 1980. It pioneered the of existing railway alignments to create a modern rail transit system, linking them with purpose-built tunnels under central Newcastle and Gateshead. This section along the coast is undoubtedly the most attractive and (I think) boasts the most attractive station - that of Tynemouth. Others may disagree. Much of the Metro's route was part of one of the world's first electric urban railway systems, which opened in 1904 on existing passenger lines. The Metro alignment includes most of two of the world's oldest passenger railways: the Newcastle & North Shields Railway (Metro between Chillingham Road and North Shields) and the Brandling Junction Railway (between Gateshead and Monkwearmouth, near the Stadium of Light). Both opened in 1839, making the Metro arguably one of the world's oldest local rail transport systems. Apart from engineering works, such as when being converted to the Metro, the two lines have been in continual passenger use for over 165 years. In the case of the Metro's Chichester station, the route of an existing mineral railway was chosen instead of the previous passenger railway alignment, as it passed through a more heavily populated area than the previous High Shields station, This is also the oldest section of the Metro route, dating back to 1834. Before tunnelling under Newcastle and Gateshead could begin, several disused mineshafts in Newcastle and Gateshead, some of them hundreds of years old, had to be filled in; the disused Victoria Tunnel, used to transport coal under the city in 1842--1860, had to be investigated. Not all of the tunnel remained, but some sections were strengthened to allow the metro tunnels to be dug above. My channel on you tube : http://www.youtube.com/alanheath is one of the most prolific from Poland. I have produced around 1,600 original films, most in English but also in Polish, French, Italian, Spanish and the occasional hint of German and Hebrew. My big interest in life is travel and history but I have also placed films on other subjects Please feel free to ask questions in the public area or to comment on things you disagree with. Sometimes there are mistakes because I speak without preparation. If I see the mistakes myself, I make this clear in the text. Please also leave a star rating! There are a number of films here on the packaging industry. This is because I am the publisher of Central and Eastern European Packaging -- http://www.ceepackaging.com - the international platform for the packaging industry in this region focusing on the latest innovations, trends, design, branding, legislation and environmental issues with in-depth profiles of major industry achievers. Most people may think packaging pretty boring but it possibly effects your life more than you really imagine! Central and Eastern European Packaging examines the packaging industry throughout this region, but in particular in the largest regional economies which are Russia, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Austria. That is not to say that the other countries are forgotten, they are not, but obviously there is less going on. However the fact that there are so many travel related films here is not from holidays but from business trips attending trade fairs around the region. Every packaging trade fair is a new excuse to make another film!

• published: 08 Nov 2010
• views: 803