Doncaster is synonymous with the word railway, having an extensive works and a large station, but had events taken a slightly different turn it might never have been on a main line at all, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES found out.
Above: In the steam era Doncaster had an extensive motive power depot at Doncaster Carr. In May 1957, Peppercorn ‘A2’ 60533 Happy Knight raises steam on shed at Doncaster Carr. Norman Preedy Archive/Railphotoprints.uk.
The large and airy nineplatform station at Doncaster in South Yorkshire has long been a magnet for enthusiasts. Bounded on one side by the town itself and on the other by an extensive railway works, it is bisected by the East Coast Main Line and even today offers a dazzling array of trains including high-speed expresses, through freights and the shunting of unusual vehicles in the adjacent works.
Situated in a lowland area where the Pennines peter out and join the Vale of York, Doncaster originally grew up around a Roman fort that had been set up to guard a crossing of the River Don. The Romans built a strategic road through the town which in time became the ’Great North Road’, better known to motorists as the A1, and which linked London with military strongpoints in the north. In medieval time…
