David Hansen wrote:

Some photographs of the old electric trains on Tyneside appear to
show them moving with open sliding doors. I don't know if my eyes
are deceiving me though.



Yes, they did have manual sliding doors. When I lived in the North
East, one particular colleague (now retired) recalled how, in those
days, he would relieve himself in an open doorway while the train was
moving! (Apparently it was common practice on late-night trains!)