Metro worker’s home movie shows the trains in their heyday

Gordon Armstrong, of North Tyneside, who died last year aged 74, filmed across the Metro system with his camcorder in 2004 and 2005.

Gordon, who used to work in the Metro control room before he retired, was able to document some unique perspectives of the old trains in the early 2000s.

Metro operator Nexus said that 22 years on his footage was a fantastic way to look back at the old trains – which are to have their final runs in service next week.

The film shows the Metro fleet in its 1990s colour scheme. This included carriages that were liveried in blue, green, red, and in the colours of advertisers.

The trains are seen across the network. There are shots of the QEII Metro bridge when it was still painted white, the old Gosforth Depot, and the now former South Shields Metro station. In one clip Newcastle United fans can be seen heading home from a match at Monument Metro station at the time when the club’s shirt sponsor was Northern Rock.

The footage has been added to the official Nexus YouTube channel, saving it for posterity ahead of the last remaining old carriages leaving service at the end of June.

Gordon’s former wife, Michaela Brown, said he would be delighted his video was getting coverage after all these years later.

Michaela, 60, of Cramlington, said: “Gordon had a passion for film making and photography. He loved it.

“It is amazing to see his Metro video getting some attention all these years on from when he made it. I still have the camera that he made it with. He captured the old trains when they were at their peak. He’d have been over the moon to see the focus on this now. It’s sad that he’s not around now to see it.

“Film making was a labour of love for him. He’d immerse himself in any project that he was working on. The Metro one was close to his heart as he worked there for so many years.”

Phil Taylor was a friend and colleague of Gordon’s at Nexus. They worked together as service delivery controllers in the Metro control room.

Phil assisted him when he was on the Metro system shooting the film.

He said: “I was an operations supervisor and I helped Gordon to get all of the correct permits he needed to get on the tracks to film the trains. He got some great footage. He put a lot of work into it.

“I remember it like it was yesterday when we both went out to shoot the trains in 2004. It’s hard to believe it’s now 22 years later and those trains are about to be phased out.

“Gordon was a great guy. I think he’d be chuffed to bits to see his film now taking on this significance. He has documented the old trains for future generations to look back at. It’s great to see his work on the Nexus YouTube channel.”

Gordon had been living in Thailand for the last eight years. He died there from a sudden heart attack on 30 December last year.

He is survived by Michaela and their two sons, Jack, 33, who works as a Metro driver, and Campbell, 29, who works in events management.

Metro’s original Class 599 trains have carried 1.7 billion customer journeys since entering service in August 1980 and they have clocked up half a billion kilometres.

They will run for the final time between Monday 22 June and Friday 26 June. As the last old train returns to the depot, it will mark the end of an era for Metro and for North East England’s railway heritage.