Welcome to Discover Lakeside - Railways and Decoy Bank Sidings
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Railways & Decoy Bank Sidings
Around half a mile away are Decoy Bank railway sidings. The Great Northern Railway came through Doncaster in 1848, supported by Edmund Beckett Denison, M.P. The Plant Works opening in 1853 and the construction of locomotives and carriages beginning in 1857.
W.O. Bentley, the car designer for Bentley motors, served an apprenticeship at the Plant Works during 1905-1910, which cost his father £75.00.
Sir Nigel Gresley, Locomotive designer, was the Chief Mechanical Engineer at the Plant from 1905-1941
Before 1923, Doncaster Central Station was used by various railway companies -North Eastern, Great Central, Great Eastern, Lancashire & Yorkshire and Midland Railway.
Notable engines built here included Stirling Singles, Ivatt Atlantics and Gresley Pacifics. The 150th Anniversary at the Plant was celebrated in July 2003 with the return to Doncaster of some of its most famous engines, including The Mallard, the “world’s fastest steam locomotive”, which achieved, an unbroken record of 126 mph on 3rd July 1938. The Flying Scotsman was the first locomotive to achieve an100 mph run from London King’s Cross station to Edinburgh Waverley without stopping.
Ten Pound Walk was a path leading from the bottom of Carr Lane to the GNR engine sheds at the sidings. £10 was the annual amount charged by Doncaster Corporation to allow engine drivers the right to cross Corporation land.
Grebes at Doncaster Lakeside
Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps Cristatus) are very distinctive water birds, with their elegant shape and crested heads.
They eat mostly fish and can be seen swimming around, scanning through the surface of the water and then diving underwater for quite long periods of time. They emerge and sometimes appear to struggle to swallow the fish they have caught.
Their courtship dance involves facing each other shaking heads, simultaneous diving and emerging with water weed hanging from their beaks. Great Crested Grebes nest in the reed beds every year at Lakeside and rear young. Their nests are very untidy and they tend to leave them as soon as the eggs are hatched and the babies can ride on the parents’ backs. As the black and white striped youngsters grow big enough to follow their parents around, they can be heard making a peep peep sound calling for food.
Little Grebes (Tachybaptus Ruficollis) are visitors to Lakeside. They are much smaller and plainer than the Great Crested, with under-tail feathers they can fluff up. They are very shy birds who dive if observed or disturbed. They feed on insects, snails and small fish. Little Grebes do nest and rear young in the reedbeds at the Lakeside most years.
The content of this trail has been developed by the Doncaster Lakeside Wildlife Action Group. Visit their website at: http://lakesidewildlifeactiongroup.weebly.com/ or follow them on Twitter @WildlifeLakeDN4.
Question
What do you wear on your feet to slide on an ice rink?
Answer: Ice Skates