A NORTH East train company has shared a rare insight into the views of Teesside and Durham enjoyed from the driver's seat of one of its trains.
London North Eastern Railway released the short video, which is part of an award-winning series called ‘In The Drivers Seat.’
This latest video in the series sees LNER driver Dylan Leonard take viewers on a southbound journey from Tyneside through to Sunderland, Seaham, Easington, Hartlepool and Yarm on an Azuma train.
The new episode also features a temporary diversionary route which is not often seen by customers, say LNER, to allow for weekend engineering works along the usual route.
Follow the journey through pictures below:
Kicking things off we begin the virtual train journey in Newcastle, which is, according to the driver, a “long and slow run out” and starts “unusually” from Platform 2.
The train is then routed via the King Edward Bridge, which the driver says keeps “the unit in the right formation.”
The train is then routed one of three ways from this direction, towards the coast, via the King Edward Bridge East Junction, Carlisle or continue on the mainline towards London.
The train then passes through the site of the former Tyneside Integrated Electronic Control Centre, which is in the process of being refurbished
As the train leaves Newcastle, viewers get a unique view of another LNER Azuma train passing close by which the driver says he gives “a wave of apology for delaying him getting back to Newcastle.”
This is as the train is joining up with the Sunderland line.
The video speeds up as we see the train speed past houses and buildings, as well as local stations such as Brockley Whins, the train then has a straight run through Boldon until it closes in on Sunderland.
We then come to the Stadium of Light Metro station, local station in Sunderland. A Tesco Extra can be seen in the distance as the Azuma train passes by the platforms.
We are then shown an aerial view of the Stadium of Light in all its glory, which the train driver says “is a regular source of disappointment and frustration on a Saturday afternoon,” and a sea of residential homes in the background.
As the train passes over the River Wear near St Peter’s Metro Station in Sunderland, we get a great external view of the Azuma peaking through the bridge’s beams of Wearmouth bridge.
We then pass through, what the driver has described as the “unique underground architectural marvel known as Sunderland station” which is the only underground station that they serve.
The train then emerges onto the County Durham coastline and countryside as we get another brilliant aerial shot of the train as it curves round towards Ryhope Grange Junction.
We continue on until Hawthorn Hive Footcrossing, where the driver gives a blast of the horn to announce the trains approach.
We are soon treated to another great shot of the Azuma passing over Horden Viaduct.
The Azuma then passes through Crimdon Dene holiday park and over a few more viaducts on the coast.
We pass over Crimdon Dene Viaduct with the speed reducing to 50mph as we exit.
The train then approaches Cemetery North, where the driver says he is cautious the speed reduces to 45mph as the train approaches Hartlepool.
We then see as the train passes through Hartlepool Station and over the Church Street level crossing.
We’re treated to another great aerial shot of the train passing through Hartlepool Station.
Continuing on we reach Seaton Carew junction and as the train passes through the station, the driver says he gives another sound of the horn for the foot crossing just to the north of the platforms.
The train begins to approach North Shore curve, where it curves round towards Stockton station.
We start to then approach the longest viaduct on the coast, Yarm Viaduct, with Yarm sitting underneath.
We’re treated to another great aerial shot as the train passes over.
A little further in the journey and passing a few more stations, the train eventually approaches the platform at York
That’s the end of the journey for the Newcastle drivers and they then hand the train off to a colleague from London to continue the journey to King’s Cross.
Dylan Leonard, the driver for the service, said the Durham Coast diversion was “particularly special” for him as he had “fond memories of the route.”
He added: “As a child, I visited family who lived near the railway line and watched the trains pass by.
“It isn’t often that we get the opportunity to take our customers along the Durham coastline to enjoy the views and it’s great we’ve captured them to share in this special short film.”
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