E2 New Erecting Shop, Doncaster Plant Works

New Erecting Shop, Doncaster Plant Works

A locomotive erecting workshop built between 1890 and 1891 by the Doncaster firm H Arnold & Son Ltd for the Great Northern Railway. The building is constructed with an iron frame and orange brick exterior walls, topped with modern corrugated metal sheet roofs.

The workshop is laid out as a rectangular twelve-bay building with two wide erecting bays running the length of the building, separated by a narrower central aisle. The north-east erecting bay contains two pits running the full length with tracks leading out through the south-east end, plus a shorter pit adjacent to the central aisle. The south-west erecting bay has three pits, with tracks from the central pit leading out through the south-east end. Each of the two erecting bays is fitted with two 45 ton overhead cranes, while the central aisle has a smaller overhead crane. A modern single-storey extension containing staff facilities has been built against the centre of the south-east gable wall but is excluded from the listing.

Externally, the workshop features pier and panel construction in orange brick laid in English bond, with a deep plinth of blue bricks and stone sills to the windows. The three double-pitched roofs over the two outer bays and central aisle are covered in modern white-coated corrugated metal sheets.

The south-east gable wall contains the main entrance. It has two tall wide outer gables, each divided into three bays by piers, with a lower narrow central gable of a single bay. The left-hand gable features a very large round-headed doorway in the central bay with timber double doors and strap hinges, above which is a circular window with a brick frame. Each outer bay originally had a large segmental-arched window at ground-floor level with a stone sill; the right-hand window is now blocked and partially obscured by the modern extension. Both bays have shorter segmental-arched windows above with stone sills. All windows have iron frames with small-pane glazing; upper-level windows have fixed glazing while the ground-floor window has a central three-by-three pane panel opening on a central pivot. The narrow central gable is partially obscured by the modern extension but retains a similar shorter segmental-arched window above with fixed small-pane glazing. The right-hand gable has a similar ground-floor window. The rest of the ground-floor elevation has been altered to form two very large straight-headed openings separated by a square brick pier, fitted with metal roller shutters; the brickwork around these openings shows slight colour variation. The elevation above remains unaltered and is similar to the left-hand gable, with a central circular window and shorter segmental-arched windows in both outer bays.

The north-east long elevation has twelve bays defined by piers. The two outer bays each contain a single large segmental-arched window with a stone sill at ground-floor level and a shorter segmental-arched window with a stone sill at first-floor level. The bays between each have two similar windows at ground-floor level and two shorter windows at first-floor level. All windows have iron frames with small-pane glazing, and ground-floor windows have pivoting three-by-three pane panels. In the eighth bay, a large opening the width of the bay with an RSJ lintel has been inserted, truncating the lower parts of the two windows and fitted with a metal roller shutter.

The north-west gable wall has two wide outer gables each divided into three bays by piers, with a lower narrow central gable of a single bay. The two outer gables each have a central doorway beneath a full-width segmental arch, with tall overlights reaching to the arch and iron frames with small-pane glazing. The outer bays each have a large segmental-arched window with a stone sill at ground-floor level, with shorter segmental-arched windows above and stone sills; the central bay has a circular window with a brick frame. The narrow central gable has a similar large segmental-arched window at ground-floor level and shorter window above. All windows throughout have similar metal frames and small-pane glazing.

The south-west long elevation mirrors the north-east elevation, with twelve bays defined by piers. The two outer bays each have a single large ground-floor window with a shorter window at first-floor level, while the bays between each have two ground-floor windows with shorter windows above, all with similar window frames and glazing.

The interior features two rows of large rectangular pierced cast-iron columns with integral capitals running the length of the building in each erecting bay. The outer rows are set against the exterior brick walls, while the inner rows define the central aisle. Riveted girders span between the columns, supporting the two 45 ton overhead travelling cranes in each erecting bay and a smaller overhead travelling crane in the central aisle, with additional struts rising to support lattice girders above that act as wall plates for three sets of iron roof trusses spanning the bays. The concrete floors of the erecting bays contain deep inspection pits edged by rails and covered when not in use. The roofs above the iron trusses are partially boarded with timber and partially covered with white-painted corrugated metal sheeting.