Ian Alderson may be too young to remember the trams which once criss-crossed Sunderland, but that hasn't stopped him getting all nostalgic about them.

His office at Stagecoach in Sunderland is packed with model trams, buses, trains and even old ticket machines, as is his home in Silksworth.

So, when he received a call to say hundreds of old transport pictures were about to be dumped in a skip, he dashed off on a mercy mission.

"When Stagecoach took over from Busways a few years ago, there was a huge clear-out at the Byker office. That's when I got the call," recalls Ian.

"I came home with two carloads of stuff, including stacks of old pictures. It would have been such a shame if they had just been thrown away.

"It is absolutely priceless stuff, it couldn't be replaced. The photographs show trams and transport all over the North East and are absolutely fascinating."

Now people worldwide are about to benefit from Ian's mercy dash, as the pictures are to be displayed on a nostalgia website by Living History North East.

Volunteers at the Sunderland-based group, which runs the region's first centre for oral history, have spent the past few months scanning thousands of the images.

The process is expected to take another few weeks but, once complete, the photographs are likely to become a star attraction on the planned Internet site.

"It is nice to think that people will now have access to the pictures.
It would have been very sad if they had ended up in the rubbish," said Ian, 45.

"I don't know what it is about trams, I just like them. I suppose it is the nostalgia attached to them really, there's just something about them!"

It was Living History volunteer Bill Hawkins who secured the haul of transport treasures for the website, after he heard of Ian's interest in bygone travel.

Bill, of Thorney Close, said: "I knew he had a sizeable collection and, when I joined Living History, I thought I'd ask if I could borrow it.

"Luckily, Ian said yes and we've spent weeks and weeks going through 53 of his folders, which are packed with information and more than 2,000 pictures.

"It is a hell of a chunk of Sunderland's transport history and I hate to think it could have all been thrown away. That would have been terrible."

Bill and his fellow volunteers are also sorting through dozens of other pictures donated by supporters of Living History for the website project.

Appeals for help via the Echo have sparked huge interest in the group's efforts to document Sunderland's history and new photos are arriving all the time.

"It started as a trickle and has turned into a sheer downpour," said Bill. "The quality of some of the photos just blows you away.

"But Ian's collection is certainly the biggest contribution so far.
These pictures need to be out there, so people can see them, not lying in a drawer – or a bin.

"We are all absolutely delighted with Ian's photos. You don't just get the trams, but the backgrounds too, with people going about their business. Fantastic!"

Bill is now urging other Wearsiders to start looking in their drawers and attics, to see if they can provide nostalgic photos for the ever-growing collection too.

"I'd hate to think people might chuck things out, just because they don't want them any more. We are always interested and happy to hear from you," he added.

* Look out for more of Ian's tram pictures in Wearside Echoes tomorrow, when we will be starting a new series featuring Sunderland's transport in bygone years.

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