We step back 40 years for our view of Newcastle Central Station.
On the face of it, not a lot has changed along Neville Street and beyond since 1982, although the towering blot on the landscape that was Westgate House was demolished in 2007. The station itself remains - a reassuring constant in a city that slowly transforms around it.
It was officially opened on August 29, 1850, by 31-one-year-old Queen Victoria, 13 years into her 64-year reign. It was a high-profile affair, with the rail companies selling viewing places of the royal party in special stands erected inside the station.
