Truck Lifting Tower Aireside Centre

The truck lifting tower at the Aireside Centre, built before 1847, is a significant structure made of snecked stone, which is a mix of grey gritstone and softer yellow sandstone, featuring rusticated ashlar dressings, a string course, and a cornice. The building has cast-iron window frames, plaques, and other details, although the roof is not visible above the parapet.

On the north side, there is a low-level entrance with two large arches on either side of a small central doorway that has an oculus above it. The large arches are adorned with a plaque stating 'TO LIFT 20 TONS', and the left arch has a smaller plaque reading 'L&NWRL-Y/2245'. Above these, there are wide arched windows in the outer bays on the second storey, with narrower central windows. The first-floor windows are deeper than those on the second floor, and there are fragmentary cast-iron small-pane window frames.

The south side features a high-level entrance. The abutment of the viaduct at ground level has been demolished, leaving a clear scar where the walling was removed. To the right, there is a wide archway, while the left has a narrow arched opening and a square cast-iron flue opening at the top centre. The first floor has two large arches flanking a central arched doorway, with three bays similar to the north side on the second storey. The first floors of the east and west sides have single arched windows; the west side has two tethering rings low down, and the east side has three pairs of round tie-bar plates.

Inside, there are remains of timber flooring and the framework of winch gear on the upper floors. This building is important as a surviving remnant of the extensive Great Northern Railway complex that once occupied the area between Wellington Street and Whitehall Road. Two such towers, located on either side of the viaduct, facilitated the lifting of trucks from the low-level Great Northern Goods Station and sidings to the high-level passenger line on the viaduct arches.