Doncaster's Wheels, Wings & Moving Things
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Doncaster's Wheels, Wings & Moving Things History | Health | Happiness Doncaster’s Wheels, Wings and Moving Things Introduction: Doncaster has a strong industrial and railway heritage; some of the most famous locomotives in the world were built and designed at ‘the Plant.’ Doncaster hosted one of the world’s first aviation meetings in 1909 and the first British fighter jets to be used in the Second World War, Gloster Meteors, were stationed at RAF Finningley, what is now a busy and expanding Robin Hood Airport. Ford cars also once rolled off production lines in the town. Perhaps you have your own memories of some of these great moving machines? What Above: Approach to Doncaster station. memories do wheels bring back for you? Your Image: Heritage Doncaster first bike, your first car, rail journeys to the seaside? In this pack you will find a variety of activities that relate to Doncaster’s history of wheels, wings and moving things. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to reflect. Please feel free to share your thoughts and memories by emailing: [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you! Contents Within the sections below you will find a variety of activities. Page 2: A Coaching Town Fit for the Races Page 3-10: Doncaster’s Railway Heritage Pages 11-13: Give us a Coggie/ Doncaster Cycling Stories/On your Bike Pages 14-15: Ford in Doncaster/British Made Ford Cars Page 16: Music on the Move Quiz Page 17: Word Search Page 18-19: Trams and Trolleybuses Page 20: Guess the Wheels, Wings and Moving Things Page 21: Crossword Page 22: England’s First Flying Show! Page 23: The Flying Flea The Gloster Meteor in level flight, 1st January 1946. Page 24-25: Make your own Paper Plane Image: Royal Air Force Official Pages 26- 27: Answers and Image Sources Photographer/Public domain A Coaching Town Fit for the Races Doncaster is one of the largest towns in the UK and is the largest metropolitan borough. Since Roman times Doncaster has been a central travel point. The Romans established a fort in Doncaster as it was a strategic staging point on the way between Lincoln and York. The 1700s were a busy period for Doncaster. During this time Doncaster was a coaching town. A coaching town was an established stopping point where travellers, horses and their riders could take a service break. There were many inns that offered food and board for weary travellers in Doncaster. Above left: Doncaster from The Old Coaching Days in Yorkshire. Illustrator unknown. Circa 1889. Image: British Library Right: The Mansion House, 1961; St Sepulchre Gate- North side Image: Doncaster Local Studies Library The Mansion House was built in 1744, based on designs by the architect James Paine. During the 1700s the Mansion House would have been the location for fancy parties. There was also living accommodation for the mayor during his year in office- although very few actually used it for that purpose. Let’s reminisce: Have you stayed the night anywhere memorable? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2 Made in Doncaster: Famous Locomotives and Trains Before we go full steam ahead and explore some history of the railways in Doncaster, let’s test your Doncaster built locomotive knowledge! ACTIVITY: Can you name the train or locomotive using the A world famous locomotive (Image details in answers) images or symbols that give clues to the name? Fill in the gaps below with your answers. 1. _ _ _ _ _ _/ S_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. _ _ _ _ _ _/ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Clue: A royal celebration in 1977 4. This train was built in 1936, Designed by Sir Gresley but built at Darlington works. The name directly links to Doncaster! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _/R_ _ _ _ _ _ 4.Doncaster Rovers. Rovers. 4.Doncaster Mallard 3. Silver Jubilee Jubilee Silver 3. Mallard 2. back) at details image (Full Scotsman Flying 1. ANSWERS: 3 Doncaster’s Railway Heritage In 1853 the Great Northern Railway Locomotive and Carriage Building Works relocated from Boston in Lincolnshire to Doncaster. The company was expanding rapidly and needed somewhere more convenient to repair its locomotives and ‘the Plant’ was born. Doncaster went from being a small, quiet, provincial Georgian market town with a population of roughly 24,000 to an engineering superpower overnight. The population of Doncaster increased rapidly over the following years, as men flocked to the town with their families to begin work at the Plant. A large housing programme was undertaken to supply basic but affordable homes for the new workforce, and a church and a school were also built next to the Plant for the benefit of the workers . The first locomotive was manufactured in Doncaster in 1868, and so began one of the most significant periods in the town’s history. Sir Patrick Stirling, a railway engineer originally from Scotland, became Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Northern Railway works in Doncaster in the 1860s. Stirling designed the famous Stirling Singles which were built in the Doncaster Works. His son, also named Patrick, played for Doncaster Rovers and became Mayor of Doncaster. In 1923 as the railway companies were renationalised and Doncaster became the main design centre for LNER. Top: ‘The Plant.’ (Doncaster Railway Works) Image: Heritage Doncaster Bottom: Boiler shop at Doncaster Railway Works. Science Museum Group Collection. Copyright The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum. 4 Left: Nigel Gresley about 1938. Right: Erecting shop at Doncaster railway works, 1947. Images: © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum Engineering genius Sir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer at the Doncaster Works, designed arguably the world’s most famous locomotive; the Flying Scotsman. The Flying Scotsman was exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition to represent the new LNER company. It went on to become the first locomotive in the world to reach 100mph. In the 1930s, Gresley designed a new class of streamlined A4 locomotives, which were also built in Doncaster, and chose one of them, Mallard, to chase the world speed record for a steam locomotive in 1938. Mallard still holds the world record for the fastest steam locomotive when it reached 126mph. In 2013 Mallard returned to Doncaster, place of her birth, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of that record. The Mallard is now on display at the National Rail Museum in York along with her older sister the Flying Scotsman. Although much of the Plant works has now gone, its legacy lives on through the survival of those great engineering masterpieces. Doncaster remains an important railway town to this day and was chosen to be the site of the new National College for High Speed Rail. ACTIVITY: True or false? Did you read the text? The answers are in there! Tick true or false for each statement below. Statement True False The fastest steam locomotive was made in Doncaster The Doncaster Railway plant was formed in 1868 Sir Norman Gresley was Chief Mechanical Engineer at ‘the Plant’ The railway engineer Sir Patrick Stirling had a son who played for Doncaster Rovers , TRUE , Nigel was name his - 1853,FALSE was It - FALSE , TRUE ANSWERS: 5 Let’s Go on a Journey… Towards Pegler’s 1993. David Allison. Watercolour. Image: Heritage Doncaster. The construction of the Great North Railway Company’s line from Leeds to London and the subsequent extensions to York, Hull, Sheffield and Lincoln made Doncaster a major railway junction on the main East Coast Line. The first station, opened in 1849, was a wooden structure which was totally rebuilt in 1865. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1938. In the painting above the artist shows the main line as it goes ‘up’ to London. On the left can be seen St James’s Church, which was built in 1858 to cater for the growing population of Balby, while in the far distance is Pegler’s chimney. Let’s Reminisce: What journeys have you taken in your life? Think of a journey that brings back positive memories for you. It could be a journey you took regularly or it might have been a once in a lifetime journey. Pause what you are doing. Make sure you are sat comfortably. Close your eyes and try to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of that journey. How do you feel? Are you excited, content, calm or nervous? Explore how you feel below. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 6 Poem: From A Railway Carriage by R. L Stevenson (1885) There is a tradition in poetry of capturing the experience of a railway journey through rhyme and rhythm of verse. Here is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was published in 1885, a couple of years after he’d had a runaway bestseller with Treasure Island. ACTIVITY: Read the poem out loud. Can you hear the rhythm of the train? Faster than fairies, faster than witches, Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches; And charging along like troops in a battle, All through the meadows the horses and cattle: All of the sights of the hill and the plain Fly as thick as driving rain; And ever again, in the wink of an eye, Painted stations whistle by. LNER Smoking carriage, 1944. Image: Science Museum Group Here is a child who clambers and scrambles, Collection. All by himself and gathering brambles; Here is a tramp who stands and gazes; And there is the green for stringing the daisies! Here is a cart run away in the road Lumping along with man and load; And here is a mill and there is a river: LNER C1 Class Engine.