Doncaster has changed - at least the area at the front of the railway station has. In the past one was faced by a sea of cars immediately outside the entrance, but now there is a large public square, with an impressive sculpture called 'Building Speed' along it's edge beside the main road that goes past. It is a much more welcoming introduction to the town for those who arrive by train.
The sculpture celebrates Doncaster's rich rail and horse racing heritage and the pursuit of speed. It features vertical steel columns standing proudly over the square, each one of these representing 50 locomotives built in Doncaster. The text on the columns celebrates locomotives named after winners of the St Leger Stakes - the oldest and longest of the five classic horse races in Britain, held annually in Doncaster each September, and originally founded in 1776.
Other columns showcase details from the original engineering drawings and are realised at full scale. They give a clear representation of the size of the locomotives from the inner workings to the wheels. The circles on the columns at the left of this shot represent a cross section of boiler tubes.
The striking red columns celebrate speed, featuring blurred snippets of the world going by from a train window while the numbers of the locomotives streak through the landscape.
This shot shows only a small part of the sculpture, but it does give an impression of the work.
To the left of the red column is a glimpse of a massive mural, with this small area showing the ancient keep of Conisbrough Castle, which can be found to the south-west of Doncaster.
There have been other changes in Doncaster since I last spent time in the town. These include a new mining memorial, and a new museum which has a railway gallery, telling something of the history of the railway workshops in the town, where over 2000 steam locomotives were built.
This was only a very brief stop to change trains. Instead of a 15 minute connection, the second train was 10 mins late so I had 25 mins to look at the changes in the square. This and the other changes suggest that it is time for me to spend a day in Doncaster looking at the changes.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Doncaster has had its difficulties in recent years, but this and the other town centre changes show a significant effort to improve the situation. I like what I saw, and I hope to have a day there quite soon to have a good look round.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Doncaster has had its difficulties in recent years, but this and the other town centre changes show a significant effort to improve the situation. I like what I saw, and I hope to have a day there quite soon to have a good look round.
Ian
Thank you Nina - I'm looking forward to seeing more of the changes in Doncaster when I get chance to go again.
Ian