It was March 14, 1938, and it was all change on one of Tyneside's busiest suburban rail routes.
The Evening Chronicle was reporting 85 years ago on the inaugural run of electric trains between Newcastle Central and South Shields stations. Replacing steam, the two-year, £500,000 electrification scheme saw the renovated line hailed as the 'most modern in the country'. Civic leaders from Newcastle and South Shields sat alongside drivers on the first trains, and the comings and goings were watched by large, interested crowds at both stations.
But, so much for the romance of steam, another local newspaper noted: "Not a great deal will be saved in running time over the distance, actually five minutes - but passengers will at least enjoy the especial cleanliness of this up-to-date form of travel. The stations will take on a freshness impossible now, while the carriages, better lit, and free from the grime inseparable from coal-burning locomotives, will possess new comfort and general attractiveness."
