Gordon at the controls of ex-Manchester 'Pilcher' 42(3) at Villette Road terminus in April 1950.
© Malcolm Fraser Collection
I first met Gordon Douglas about 1990 and he was my introduction to tramway modelling. I had seen his 1/16th scale Sunderland Trams on his portable tramway at the Gateshead Metro Centre and then later on the permanent double track in Sunderland's Roker Park.
He was a long standing member of the City of Sunderland Model Engineering Society (CSMES), who provided the concrete base for the track he built in Roker Park, the Tramway and Light Railway Society (TLRS) and a founder member of the TLRS North East Area Group which was formed in 1999.
In his later years when it was becoming more difficult to erect and dismante the overhead, he experimented with and then adopted radio control and internal batteries for some of his trams and his Tyne & Wear Metro Car.
Gordon was born in Fulwell, Sunderland and attended the local school until the age of 14. His first job was to deliver mantles for the local gas company, after which he joined the great Binns store to be trained as a French polisher. Fortunately for tramway modelling he didn't like the job, so at 17 he applied for a job as a tram conductor and at 21 he became a motorman.
This he enjoyed and continued to do so until the outbreak of war in 1939 when he volunteered for Military service. He served in the R.A.M.C. and later the R.E.M.E. until the end of the war when, on his retun to Sunderland, he met and married Eva in 1946. He also resumed his job as a motorman until the shift work caused him to seek other employment. After a period as a lorry driver he joined the 'Pru' where he worked until he retired after 25 years service. Gordon and Eva celebrated their golden wedding in 1996 only one month before Eva died.
Gordon built his first model tram when he was 14 years old, but only started building 1/16 th scale models in the early 1960's after which he built many models of his favourite Sunderland trams. He showed these and his model fairground for many years and raised tens of thousands of pounds for deserving causes in and around Sunderland. This eventually led to Gordon and daughter Dorothy being invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in 1998 in recognition of his charity work.
His model of No. 16 (pictured above), the last one completed in 1999, is a fitting tribute to his memory and modelling skills.
He took a great interest in the restoration of Sunderland 16 at Beamish, but unfortunately he did not see its completion in July 2003. A day or two before before its public launch he had a fall, and as a result contracted pneumonia and passed away soon after.
Mention must also be made here of Frank Charlton who was Gordons long time friend and helper, both at the Park and at the many exhibitions he attended. Frank was not a modeller but, because his father William drove trams in Sunderland, he shared Gordons passion for trams and helped him to raise many thousands of pounds for his charities. He was, with Gordon, a long standing member of the TLRS and a founder member of the TLRS North East Area Group.
