The station is on the site of the former Percy Main station, which was opened on 22 June 1839, on the
Newcastle and North Shields Railway, serving a small riverside community clustered around a colliery. This later became part of the
North Tyneside Loop, served by the
North Eastern Railway. Heading east from the Percy Main, towards
Whitley Bay, the line crosses the
55° north line of
latitude. The station is located to the east of the junction with the former
Riverside Branch, which closed to passengers in July 1973, with goods services continuing in to the late 1980s. Following closure for conversion in the early 1980s, the station was demolished and re-built. The original
North Eastern Railway bridge was preserved by the
National Railway Museum in
York. The preserved footbridge is very similar to the one still in place at
South Gosforth. The station is a short walk from the southern terminus of the
North Tyneside Steam Railway, a heritage line which runs through the site used by the
Tyne and Wear Metro as a testing facility in the late 1970s. == Facilities ==