In a most ingenious place we live,
A town that had the wit to give
Momentum to a dream.
Yes, a most ingenious town, with brains
To pioneer the age of trains,
And build a head of steam.
Incredible,
Ingenious…
In a most ingenious way, they learned,
Wheels could turn when coal was burned,
And history could be made.
What a most ingenious gift – be proud,
We made it, gave it – shout it loud,
It’s where the tracks were laid.
Inventive,
Ingenious…
And thus ingenious men could use,
The railway lines to spread the news,
Momentous stories told.
The printed word in wide demand,
An Echo heard across the land,
The national presses rolled.
Influential,
Ingenious…
Just how ingenious down the years,
Have been our brilliant engineers,
Who had the craft and guile
To build great bridges from the North,
To span divides o’er Firth of Forth,
Sydney Harbour and The Nile.
Inspirational,
Ingenious…
Ingenious workers, hour by hour,
Make global engines roar with power,
We make them come alive.
London buses run on time,
Russian tractors – our design,
We give the world its drive.
Incomparable,
Ingenious…
And, now, ingenious under seas,
A whole new wave of expertise,
To brave new depths we lead.
From distant days of Locomotion,
To modern skills beneath the ocean,
Oh, a special place indeed.
Ingenious,
In Darlington.
(In 2025, Darlington celebrates the 200th anniversary of giving birth to the railways. This is a tribute to the town’s industrial heritage and how it made a mark on the world through its engineering prowess)