This predecessor of the North Eastern Railway company (NER) shared those two tracks up to Heaton Junction and "on the 1st July 1847 Newcastle was connected by rail with Berwick, and thus placed on the main line between Edinburgh and London.

The first station stood in a cutting on the double track shared by the main line to Edinburgh and the Newcastle & North Shields route.

When it opened the station stood in a rural location, the nearest village being Byker Hill, about ¼ mile to the east, but during the later decades of the 19th century the terraces of the residential suburb of Heaton began to fill the fields on both sides of the railway.

There were two island platforms about 210 yards (190 m)[4] long reached by ramps from the ticket offices, which were at ground level alongside the road bridge carrying Heaton Road over the railway.

When the East Coast Main Line (ECML) was electrified the opportunity was taken to rationalise the track work in many places including the section from Newcastle Central Station to the carriage sidings at Heaton.