Wynyard Woodland Park - Thorpe Thewles, Stockton-on-Tees, UK
N 54° 36.720 W 001° 22.675
30U E 604756 N 6052825
An old railway carriage in a country park.
Waymark Code: WMCGTC
Location: North East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/06/2011
Views: 2
Thanks to funding from the Countryside Agency, Stockton Council became the proud owners of a de-commissioned railway carriage in 2004.
The carriage dates from the early 1960’s and was originally a British Rail ‘Mark 2 Tourist Second Class Open’, used for transporting passengers and commonly used on intercity services until quite recently. In 1991, modifications including steel panels in the large window frames and an aluminium floor and roller shutter doors, transformed it into a power wagon for track-spraying equipment.
School Children Enjoying Crafts In The Carriage The Railway Carriage Interior View
The carriage was relocated to the Park from it’s previous home in Ashford, Kent, and now provides an appropriate reminder of the important railway heritage of the Park and surrounding area.
Once on site at Wynyard Woodland Park, the carriage was extensively refurbished and re-fitted by dedicated volunteers. The interior space has been imaginatively decorated and provides an unusual and interesting classroom area for visiting groups and school parties.
Educational facilities inside the carriage include a six-foot, touch-sensitive whiteboard similar to those found in school classrooms. The whiteboard provides a preliminary introduction of the park to school children before they venture out into the countryside for hands-on studies.
Groups will also find a pond-life tank which is linked to a microscope and computer and which allows close examination of microscopic creatures via the computer screen or by the projection of live images onto the large whiteboard.
The Park’s junior nature club (the Nature Detectives) use the carriage as a meeting place, and schools and groups can book it as a schoolroom or as a more general base for either a Planetarium visit, Ranger led activity or a combined astronomical and conservation field trip. The carriage can accommodate a group of up to 30, advance booking is essential and a small deposit and booking fee are required.
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