River Tyne pedestrian tunnel was first planned in 1937,but delayed by war.Work began in 1947 and it was opened in July 1951 by the Minister of Transport Alfred Barnes MP. The pedestrian & cycle tunnels inside are each 900feet long(275m) and 10.5ft and 12ft in diameter,respectively.Lifts & escalators are at each end in a tunnel housing 200ft long with a vertical rise of 85ft. These Waygood-Otis escalators were longest single flight in the world,when built and are longest in England(1992).They are,probably,still the longest in the world made of wood(each 306 steps,Canadian Maple). They have a Kirkham Pump auto-lubricating system with original parts still in use.