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Model of a North Eastern Railway coal wagon, c 1915

Model of a North Eastern Railway coal wagon, c 1915

1910-1920
Indenture of Thomas Oliver the younger to William Bouch, 1847

Indenture of Thomas Oliver the younger to William Bouch, 1847

1847-04-25
Bogie Ballast hopper, made at British Rail Engineering Limited Shildon in 1973, withdrawn from service 2006

British Railway Seacow Ballast wagon, DB982896

1973
Shildon Urban District Council booklet "Shildon Official Handbook", describing the town, its history, industries, leisure facilities, etc., 1950s. Includes adverts for local shops and firms, a street plan and map of the surrounding area. 32pp.

Shildon Official Handbook

1950-1959
[Draft letter] 1829 Apr 9, New Shildon [to] Rob't Stephenson, Liverpool / Tim.y Hackworth. [3p. on 1 leaf. Expresses opinions on pulling capacity of various engines, and on the inefficacy of stationary engines and endless ropes on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. On SM negs. 452-4/89]

Letter, Timothy Hackworth to Robert Stephenson, 9 April 1829

1829-04-09
Educational film about coal and coal wagons. Filmed in locomotion with the Friends of the National Railway Museum (North) explaining the importance of the MGR wagon at Locomotion

DVD-R 'The MGR 'Hi-Cap' Story'

2 Leaflets, entitled 'Shildon Works', published August 1979 by British Rail Engineering Ltd., contains information relating to the history of Shildon Works and a tour of the site (with map), black and white photographic illustrations.

Shildon Works

1979
Edited Information film about the history and importance of the Shildon site. Footage of Locomotives being shunted into Locomotion. Interviews with staff explaining why The National Railway Museum wanted to merge. Footage of the renovations. Audio a bit quiet. Duration: 00:12:57

DVD-R 'NRM at Shildon'

2002-2004
Leaflet, entitled 'Shildon Works', published August 1979 by British Rail Engineering Ltd., contains information relating to the history of Shildon Works and a tour of the site (with map), black and white photographic illustrations.

Shildon Works

1979
Cold chisel, Shildon Works Co., small metal chisel stamped SWCo DEW 62. Dimensions: 4 1/4"x3/4"x1/2"

Cold chisel from Shildon Works Co

Filmed by Chris Hogg / Rushes / Erection of 'Light engine' public artwork by Peter Freeman, also other shots showing construction across the site

Master MiniDV 'Locomotion Public Artwork'

2005
09-10/2004 / Filmed by Chris Hogg / Last minute preparations for opening by National Railway Museum staff (21/09/2004), Opening day (not official - 25/10/2004)

Master MiniDV 'Locomotion preparation for opening'

2004
Mini Dv Tape filmed by Chris Hogg. Showing the construction of Locmomotion in Shildon

Master MiniDV 'Locmotion Construction'

circa 2003
Maste mini Dv filmed by Chris Hogg showing the construction of Shildon

Master Mini DV 'Locomotion Construction'

circa 2003
Leaflet, entitled 'Shildon Works', published August 1979 by British Rail Engineering Ltd., contains information relating to the history of Shildon Works and a tour of the site (with map), black and white photographic illustrations.

Shildon Works

1979
Oral history interview with Bill Raine (session 3 of 4) conducted by Robert Aitchison on on 28 May 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 26 minutes 40 seconds. Fitter at Shildon Railway Works; 1960s, Shildon Railway Works, high capacity, merry go round wagons [00:07:00]; assembly at Shildon works; living in Shildon, leisure and entertainment, Shildon cinemas [00:15:00]; Shildon pubs and club [00:26:34] [end of interview]

Bill Raine interviewed by Robert Aitchison (session 3 of 4)

2004-05-28
Oral history interview with Trevor Davies recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 28 April 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration 24 minutes 34 seconds. Leaving school, joining drawing office at Shildon railway works, start apprenticeship in pattern shop, making own patterns; conscription to parachute regiments for 2 years [00:05:00]; meeting new apprentice John Dowson; introduction of epoxy resins; repair to Timothy Hackworth statue; repair of mahogany base of cup won by West Auckland in footballs first World Cup [00:10:00]; closure of Shildon railway works, parade; nationalisation of railways; impact of Shildon works closure on town, mood, good working condition [00:15:00]; good machinery, merry-go-round wagons, moved to brick works [00:20:00:00]; Shildon works good management; social life in Shildon, football club, successful children [00:24:34] [end of interview]

Trevor Davies interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-04-28
Oral history interview with Aubrey Clethero conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 17 minutes. Born 1928 in Shildon, childhood, education, first job at 14, tobacconist; office job at Shildon railway works, 1942, sorting and delivery mail; move to joiner’s shop, apprentice joiner; [00:03:50] career overview, leaving Shildon works, private joiner’s firm, work at Shildon Council, redundancy, joiner’s jobs at Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland, return to Shildon Council (1957), woodwork teacher at Cotton Hill School, Bishop Auckland, teaching evening classes in joinery, teaching qualification, Woodhouse Secondary Modern School for 24 years, retired at 55 years of age, now helps neighbours; [00:08:10] Father’s career, miner at Dabble Duck Mine, First World War soldier, milk business after war, during the Great Depression kept pigs and hens for sale, labourer at Shildon Works, various jobs until retired; [00:11:00] mother’s career, labourer at Shildon Works until son started at the Works, mother looked after house, livestock and allotment, work in axle box plant at the Works, previously worked as a dress maker, mother into the work to help the war effort in Second World War, war effort armament production; [00:16:20] further details of Father’s lorry work; photograph described, earth closet cleaning, rubbish disposal, use of clinker, coal man, ended at the Great Depression; [00:19:40] first day at Shildon works: aged 14 years, worked in general office, messenger boy duties, arrangements for carrying parcels; [00:22:50] extreme weather, hard winters, 1942 whilst working as apprentice, lost milk cart story; [00:24:00] childhood, mince pie story, black out activities; [00:27:50] Second World War impact on Shildon works, air raids, no bombs dropped, munitions at Works; [00:29:20] Italian prisoners of war at Shildon works, camp at Harpley; [00:30:50] cats at the Works, cat in most workshops, father got a kitten from the works, cat in works and home; [00:31:40] Shildon Works: flooring, enjoyment of working there, piece work, NUR involvement, leaving works; [00:34:40] life after leaving Shildon Works; good career, evening classes, Further Education teaching (1953), more money; [00:36:10] working at Shildon Works; got on well with others, did simple tasks, examples, practical jokes, Uncle worked at Works, no clocking on, never ill; [00:41:00] joiners shop work; check-in system, pay check system, few accidents, sawmill accidents, personal accident; enjoyed work; first aid system at the works, ambulance room, works’ ambulance; [00:47:45] Second World War, volunteering as a patient for first aid courses for women at the Railway Institute; [00:49:30] Railway Institute facilities; church choir member, became leader of church youth club, youth club committee meetings, no Works social activities during War, Works Band, Works cricket club; [00:54:40] Shildon works, Fire Brigade, difficulties of working in the forge, heat and dirt, welding work, lot of local boys got jobs in the Works, Works provided a lot of experiences; [00:58:10] impressions of working in Shildon Works, comparison with Darlington, paid board and lodging at home, given pocket money; [00:59:20] father buying first television; [01:01:00] Shildon works, views on what the site is now (2004); neighbours; memories of lots of men entering and leaving Works each day; [01:05:30] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade; [01:07:10] 1930’s carnival; involved through All Saints’ Church, Sunday School, Redcar Annual outing, train travel to Redcar; [01:10:40] Shildon works lunch arrangements; came home, canteen mainly for men from Bishop Auckland, tea making, 10 am breaks; [01:13:20] social classes distinctions at the works [01:17:42] [end of interview]

Aubrey Clethero interviewed by Jo Bath

2004
Oral history interview with Frank Wilson recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 28 April 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration 9 minutes 28 seconds. Brief history of Shildon Wagon Works, produced and repaired freight wagons, details of wagon building; timber wagons 1934; construction, works description, use of steam furnaces to power hammers, 1940 boiler replacement by electric driven hammers, 1960’s furnace conversion to gas, 1940 drop hammers description, machinery used to produce wagons; [00:02:20] wagon repair shop; 1937 repairs all done in one workshop; construction shop; frightening site to a boy, reasons, modernisation details; [00:04:00] development pf Shildon works; 1950’s bogey shop description, body shop description; Beeching Report, Shildon escaped closure, Shildon development; [00:05:00] 1960’s high-capacity coal wagon; merry-go-round (MGR) wagon, operation description, 10000th wagon built 03/12/1980; [00:06:10] 1939-1945 Second World War, increased production of freight vehicles, tank track production, mortar bomb body and other war items produced; [00:07:20] grandfather (Thomas Oliver), boiler maker 1846-1853, no knowledge about this until recently, amazed by finding [00:09:28] [end of interview]

Frank Wilson interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-04-28
Oral history interview with George Bellas (session 2) recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 11 May 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 13 minutes 14 seconds. 1960s, cinemas in Shildon, first films shown, Bond films, Shildon Railway Institute, cinema club night, local comedian; 1960s at Shildon railway works, merry-go-round wagons; workers from pits coming to Shildon works after pits closure; [00:04:45] leisure activities in Shildon, dancing, live music; arrival of television, impact on local entertainment; pubs, public houses in Shildon, social life, West Auckland, impact of Shildon works closure on pubs, railway works workers going to the Forge at Darlington; [00:10:15] workers lunch, butcher’s pie, pub, what was nearest to the works; comparison Shildon of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s; temporary workers at Shildon works merry-go-round, high capacity wagons [00:13:14] [end of interview]

George Bellas interviewed by Robert Aitchison (session 2 of 2)

2004-05-11
Oral history interview with Joe Wild, conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchinson in 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 52 minutes. Born in Shildon mid 1920s, all life in Shildon; started work at Shildon Works in 1941, fitter, aged 21 years went into Production Section, promoted after 4 years, move to Machine Shop for rest of career, retired on Works closure in 1984 [00:02:00]; work during World War 2, moved to different sections of Production Section [00:03:00]; post War, new wagons production, 32 wagons a day completed in one Shop alone, describing different wagons, Consett Steel Works wagons trains, Darlington Rolling Mills wagons; working conditions [00:08:10]; salary, first wage 27 shillings, 47pw hours worked, good working conditions; Father, a miner until 1931, Eldon Colliery closure, unemployed until 1938, depression years [00:10:10]; family background, five children in family, two left now, eldest sister’s Belgium husband story as a pilot; life before marriage, moving to new Shildon when married for 9 years, lack of houses, dislike for New Shildon, unfriendly except miners, present house 23 years, second marriage, single life [00:16:10]; meaning of works to people; closure had large effect, entitlement to 1 year's dole money, had poultry as well, limited closure effect, wife and daughter’s home baker business [00:18:40]; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, well organised, much appreciated by people, disappointment for lack of 175 years celebration, personal views [00:20:30]; 1975 Repair Shop closure; repair work described, 300 wagons repaired per week [00:22:00]; 1960s development of high-capacity coal wagon, still operating with higher capacity [00:23:20]; Shildon works closure, JW almost 65 years old, limited chance of further work, effect on younger people and Shildon population, lots of people left town, mines had closed; drift mine story [00:25:50]; camaraderie at the Works, good relationships except with Darlington men [00:27:10]; political details of area, strong Labour area, locally Liberal/Independent [00:28:40]; drinking habits, teetotal; strong Unions at Shildon Works, becoming Union member, management fair, low wages below average, free passes, privilege tickets [00:31:30]; public transport; better then than now, bus timings were good, father was porter on the railway in 1938, was a good train service compared to now, examples of train services [00:36:30]; decline of Shildon Works, changes in working practice [00:40:50]; canteen at Shildon Works, run by local people and then franchised out, cost [00:42:20]; leisure and entertainment in Shildon, concerts during war, organisation, cinemas, views of TV viewing now [00:44:10]; reading habits, newspapers, Northern Echo reader for 70 years, decline in quality, JW considers his lack of reading has been a limiting factor [00:46:50]; education, Shildon Council School, school life, no sports involvement [00:47:50]; getting a job, to get a job at Works father needed to work there [00:48:20]; Industries history in Shildon, Fur Factory (Astraka) built on an early industrial estate (Dabble Duck), other industries [00:51:59] [end of interview]

Joe Wild interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004
Oral history interview with Eric Brass (session 1 of 2) conducted by Robert Aitchison on 25 February 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Original duration: 41 minutes, however there are many distortions throughout the recording, resulting in 28 minutes of audible recording via the digital access file. Education, All Saints School (left 1948); career start, clothing factory, Shildon Works; served 2 years National Service, returned to works; following Shildon works closure stayed for 8 years with new owners until aged 60 years; [00:01:00] apprentice fitter, new wagons, repair side, promotion, jig and tool work, charge hand for drilling machines; [00:02:00] after Works closure, company who took over the Works until final closure; impact of Shildon Works closure, personal impact, devastated although still had a job, impact on town, hard times for the town, some younger men transferred, loss of small businesses; [00:03:20] working conditions, improved as times went by, forge example; Works stories; relationships, friendly, managers; protest march against closure in Thatcher era, Works was closed even though they were the best, reduction in Union power, bitterness, closure spoilt lifetime of working at the Works; [00:06:20] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, on duty, great event, thousands of people; living in Shildon; hard times at start of War, parents ensured family had sufficient food, post War “boom” time at Works, family members at the Works; list of shops in Shildon, picture houses; [00:09:20] population of Shildon, decreased a few thousands since closure, during “boom” time every family had some connection to Works; Shildon Works, where it was, office building site, biggest sidings; [00:11:10] personal views on new museum, good, questions longevity of museum and visitor target numbers; importance of Shildon Works, valued in near area, men employed from wide area, good comradeship, views of Darlington railway works workers; [00:13:00] memories of first museum, visited in early days, housed in “boxing” family's house, visited with father from 5-6 years old; personal views on politics of area and local people engagement with politics; [00:14:50] National Service, 1955-1957, armourer, glad to get it over; [00:15:40] employment at Shildon Works, example of how keen men were to work at the Works, comparison with other local workplaces; first wage, first job in the office delivering mail, little money when serving his time, followed father who was employed at the Works, pride in products; [00:18:00] Merry-go-round wagons, local haulage firm involvement, good local firm involvement, other product production; [00:19:30] Shildon works, further details, maximum of two and a half thousand men, caused town population increase, best times 1960’s and 1970’s, closure 1984, unclear why closure occurred, overseas competition; [00:22:20] Second World War, women worked, Italian prisoners of war, 5 years old when War started; scalding accident, hospital treatment; interview interrupted [00:28:05] [end of interview]

Eric Brass interviewed by Robert Aitchison (session 1 of 2)

2004-02-25
Oral history interview with Eddy Holmes conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes. [Track 01] Childhood; moved Yorkshire to Shildon (1968), education, left school September 1946 [00:02:50] first job, telegram boy for 1 month, duties [00:04:07] [end of track 01]; [Track 02] starting work, telegram delivery, grocery job (10 months), reasons for leaving, British Rail (BR) Shildon Works (start August 1947) [00:02:40]; start career at Shildon railway works, office boy (Welding Shop office), machinist, training until 21 years [00:04:10]; move to Smith’s Shop, details of work [00:05:00]; move to Wheel’s Shop, grade 1 machining, details of work; move to Machine Profile Burning (1964); work there until Works closure 1984, Shildon BR “jewel in the crown”, details of wagon building, high-capacity wagon contract (1960’s) saved Shildon, details of high-capacity wagon operation, final 11 years as part-time finished work inspector [00:09:00]; normal working day, working hours; making couplings, drilling machines; salary, wages, piece work, details of different work, work pattern, shift work [00:14:40]; working atmosphere; socialising, holidaying together, good relationships, friendships [00:18:00]; health and safety, machine guards, incident, machine profile burning conditions, ambulance room, personal injury, works fire brigade [00:22:00]; working conditions, dirty work in machine profiling burning, clothing, heat produced [00:25:35]; likes/dislikes of job, relief finished work inspecting, reasons; clocking in/out system, least liked-line drilling, reasons [00:28:40]; cats at the Works, personal views [00:30:00]; Shildon Railway Institute, table tennis, snooker, competitions, talent contests [00:31:50]; singing experience in clubs; details of club work, Empire Theatre Middlesborough, other Shildon singers – Alan Fryatt, John Fryatt (organist), George Remain [00:37:00]; boxing in Shildon, good boxers at the Works, Sid Cottingham (machine burner), Ronny Cottingham, gymnasium at the Works [00:38:44] [end of track 02]; [Track 03] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, few memories, volunteering details, details of event, details of visitors, what was seen [00:03:20]1950 event, no memories [00:04:15]; Union membership, NUR, AEU, AEU shop steward, details of shop stewards and convenors [00:06:00]; works closure, 1982 demonstration to keep Works open, reason for demonstration, House of Commons visit, success at keeping Works open until 1984, politics linked to closure, gradual workforce decrease, low morale, protest involvement, meeting with MPs, blame for closure, questioning reasons for closure [00:12:00]; work after Works closure, machine profile burner at Shildon Forge, works committee, dismissal, disputing dismissal, colleagues support, good relationship with management [00:26:00]; further employment details, Cleveland Bridge at Darlington CN machine operator (9 years), retirement 1967 [00:27:55]; views of other Shildon works employees after closure, majority wanted another job, not a lot of other work, works reduced from 25000 men, some transferred elsewhere, hard for older employees, town has recovered from the closure [00:32:16] [end of Track 03] [end of interview]

Eddy Holmes interviewed by Jo Bath

2004
Oral history interview with Gary Cook conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchison on 22 April 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 30 minutes 30 seconds. Apprenticeship (last apprentice at Shildon railway works); apprentices pecking order; end of apprenticeship, pneumatic braking, testing brakes, new construction, voluntary work in Kenya, soda ash wagons [00:05:00]; work conversion, social sciences Master course at Sunderland college; move to [Nutgen]; unemployment, work as machinist at forge, work at Milton Keynes; travel permits, destinations to anywhere [00:10:00]; Margaret Thatcher on railways; freight on motorways; gaffer brought in to shut down Shildon works [00:15:00]; apprentices were craftsmen; saddle makers; made injury worse; social network at works; Shildon railway works, most efficient works in Europe [00:20:00]; Michael Foot visited; friends at works; good wage for 16 year old; trained at Newton Aycliffe; basic training then decide trade; family influence in getting job at Shildon works; measure a square piece of metal [00:25:00]; comparison with Derby railway works; social service qualification at Sunderland college, teachers, socialist learning at college [00:30:31] [end of interview]

Gary Cook interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-04-22
Oral history interview with Tom Strophair conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchison on 23 March 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration 1 hour 5 minutes 7 seconds. Born in 1927 in Witton Park; early life; apprenticeship; army; Shildon railway works; reparation steel from Japan; long shed; motive power shed; electric trains; Shildon works closure 1984; pensions; prisoner of war; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary; wagon repair; traverser; closure of shipbuilding; closure of pits; Shildon station; railway institute; almshouses

Tom Strophair interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-03-23
Oral history interview with Bob Murton conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 18 minutes 38 seconds. Childhood (born 1909); parents occupation; his role as an apprentice patternmaker at Shildon works; scholarship to Newcastle College; interviewed by Nigel Gressley; draughtsman at the works; retired 1972; world war 2 at the works; women employed; different trades in the works; changes in his role over time; exhibition in the works of progress made with technology

Bob Murton interviewed by Jo Bath

2004
Oral history interview with Harry March conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchison on 31 March 2004, as part of the Time Track oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 38 minutes 43 seconds. Born in 1946 in Shildon; early life; Shildon drift mine; Shildon railway works; wagon repair; overhead cranes; high-capacity wagon building; ballast wagons; Shildon works decline and closure; politics of closure; Beeching Plan; Darlington North Road closure; removal of railway lines; working conditions and injuries; draw bar production; buck eye production; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary; Locomotion Museum; Timothy Hackworth; sports teams; coal from pits to Shildon railway works; health and safety; injuries; railway family.

Harry March interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-03-31
Oral history interview with Maurice Peacock conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes. Born 1917 in Shildon. Childhood; moved to Middlesbrough (1921), Middlesbrough High School; Shildon streets; father a coal miner (Dabble Duck Mine, Shildon), father moved to ICI Billingham; leaving school pre-exams to be an errand boy, brothers on dole, took exams, errand boy, shop manager; [00:03:10] joining Rochdale Police Force (1939); 9 years in Rochdale, periods in army and air force, married 1941, dislike of police work; [00:04:00] further career; ; return to Middlesbrough; general dealer’s shop (4-5 years), fish and chip shop, burnt out after one week, new equipment within a week, commercial traveller until retirement; [00:06:40] childhood, Growing up; father’s work as miner, coal seam under house, brothers farm workers, railway routes near Shildon, no family members became miners; [00:12:40] play location and games as a child in Shildon, goods yard play, friends, Timothy Hackworth School; [00:19:10] Shildon railway works, wagon works; [00:20:00] food in childhood, porridge; [00:21:10] Shildon area; leisure and activities in Shildon, Soho Shed used by band, museum visit, Sunday School, brass band visits, church on Sundays, played during week, groceries paid once a week, lot of shops, wet fish shop, played in recreation ground, lot of railway lines; [00:28:40] family life; first girlfriend 1937, married 1939, widowhood 1998, memories of wife, grandchildren, great grandchildren; [00:31:20] 1926 General Strike, the Great Depression; father and brothers out of work, reduction in amount of food, family memories, what people did during general strike, deaths of young siblings; [00:35:00] Shildon railway works visit, no desire to work in works; [00:36:10] interest in police work, Shildon policeman; [00:38:00] childhood, clothing, coal deliveries, coal house outside, toilets, wash house, washday, father’s miner’s clothes, watching the carnival, bicycle use, grocery deliveries, hand cart use; [00:46:10] agricultural show; showground, rabbits, pigeons; [00:47:30] extreme weather, winter, igloo building; [00:49:40] dinners during General Strike; Salvation Army, soup; [00:51:30] mines around Shildon; lots of pits; [00:52:20] electrified railway; few memories; [00:53:50] cinema, went now and then, “flea pit", not enjoyable, piano played pre-organ, first picture with talk seen in Middlesborough; [00:56:50] social classes in childhood, no issues, no bullying in school; [00:58:00] shoes in childhood; [00:59:00] food, always fresh food in house; [00:01:10] remedies, drugs, medication in childhood, cod liver oil; [01:02:40] favourite things to do; playing out, details, punishment if mis-behaved; [01:04:50] proggy mat making, helping mother; [01:07:10] tricks on neighbours; doorknob tying; [01:08:00] street play; hoop rolling, marbles; [01:10:20] family support; relationship with brothers, sisters, sister’s work; [01:12:40] Army service; visit to London to see sister, army work in a US army camp [01:15:09] [end of interview]

Maurice Peacock interviewed by Jo Bath

2004
Oral history interview with Oliver Lockwood recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 27 May 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 23 minutes 44 seconds. Cinema’s in Shildon; films shown; poverty; bike for £3-17-6; film stars of the time; [00:05:00] Musicals seen in Newcastle; father had job at Shildon railway works; no paper but school used slates; suit for 8 guineas; father went to war, Second World War; [00:10:00] first TV in 1954 for £100; mortgage on house; first car Hillman Minx [00:15:00 ] still driving aged 80; radio shows listened to; black and white minstrels [00:20:00] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade, engines [00:23:44] [end of interview]

Oliver Lockwood interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-05-27
Oral history interview with Frank Wilson conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchison on 6 April 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 32 minutes 32 seconds. Born in Shildon 1919; Shildon railway works; machine shop; apprentice electrician; chargehand; work at Faverdale Darlington, closure of Faverdale works; return to Shildon works, allocation of jobs, organisational changes; free passes criterion; North Road closure; use of coal in furnaces, coal dust issues, change to gas power; other family mebers worked at Shildon works; Shildon works post First World War, Italian prisoners of war; childhood, Timothy Hackworth school from 1924; General Strike; Second World War impact on work at Shildon, Faverdale bombing; overtime; health; income tax change with PAYE 1946; Easington Hospital

Frank Wilson interviewed by Robert Aitchison (first interview)

2004-04-06
Oral history interview with Ray Goad recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 7 May 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 42 minutes 25 seconds. Left school at 15, apprentice welder at Shildon Railway Works, working conditions, night school, wagons, wages, [00:02:00] axle box plant, working day; informal training, details of production line; [00:04:00] office boy, wages office, tricks played by workers, wages; [00:06:00] night school; apprentice pattern maker, working conditions, details of pattern making; [00:10:00] wagons works, repair of wooden-sided wagons, details of work carried out, patterns, plaster of Paris, steel cavity, ‘monkey tails’, woodworking; [00:14:00] banana vans, fish vans, guard vans weighted for braking, underframe and wheels made at Shildon, wooden sides made at Darlington; [00:17:00] wages; tools, cement wagons; [00:20:00] inter-department cricket; day release and Higher National Certificate (HNC) qualification, procedure for attendance at college; [00:22:00] castings in Press Shop, brake van stoves, LMS design, producing LMS patterns, patterns store, coke wagons; NUR strike 1955; ‘monkey tail’ forging; [00:26:00] apprenticeship in drawing office experience; [00:28:00] noise in works, Health & Safety, poor conditions, forge, welding, welding brackets for containers; fire in repair shop and Works fire engine; [00:32:00] father witnessed a death; 1957 introduction of clocking in and out machine; [00:34:00] details on apprenticeship, trainee draughtsman, production details for coke wagons; [00:36:00] 1958 leaving Shildon Works, National Service; return from National Service, no job at Shildon, trainee draughtsman at Darlington Locomotive Works; [00:40:00] lived in Shildon, Darlington, York; Inspector of Materials for British Rail; Shildon works closure, worry for father’s job [00:42:25] [end of interview]

Ray Goad interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-05-07
Oral history interview with Colin Howson conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchison on 21 April 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration 15 minutes 30 seconds. Born in Bishop Auckland in 1948; PE teacher training Leeds college; childhood in Bishop Auckland; school and college; starting work Sunderland; sports in Shildon, British Rail Football club, boxing; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade, memories of smell and noise; railway walks in Shildon area; closure of Shildon railway works; mining; politics in Shildon area.

Colin Howson interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-04-21
Oral history interview with Frank Wilson (session 2 of 2) recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 28 April 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 22 minutes 47 seconds. Timeline of Merry-Go-Round wagons; good times for Shildon; other wagons constructed at Shildon; [00:05:00] Second World War, 1939-1945, wartime; wages between 1957 and 1960’s; occupation of wife at Aycliffe; other jobs; cinemas in New Shildon; no dance hall but other social activities; [00:10:00] New Shildon shop sold records; advent of television around 1958; reading rooms; [00:15:00 ] food; newspapers; not political; equality for women; Shildon railway works holiday; [00:20:00] leisure, holidays for his family at Butlins, Isle of Wight, Margate and Blackpool [00:22:47] [end of interview]

Eric Brass interviewed by Robert Aitchison (session 2 of 2)

2004-05-12
Oral history interview with Garry Huntington, conducted and recorded by Jo Bath over two sessions in 24 and 25 February 2004, as part of the Time Track oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 2 hours 17 minutes. [Disc 1] Childhood, family background, parents and schooling; [00:03:55] starting work at Astraka fake fur factory, [00:05:05] early history of Astraka, its role in the development of fake fur, [00:08:27] breaking into the Russian market, [00:10:55] famous clients, [00:12:22] uniform, diversification and closure; Winter Olympics; [00:15:54] a working day, relationship with designers; [00:18:57] funny mistakes; customer service; making a horse blanket; [00:22:15] working as a trouble shooter and with catalogue companies; [00:24:50] early work in the stores, training and negotiation for better job; [00:28:21] work of the technical department; [00:29:24] lack of union activity or protest; [00:31:03] highs and lows; relations with the directors; [00:34:55] social and sports facilities; [00:37:25] various homes; [00:39:15] the canteen and the estate, damp problems; [00:42:20] staff discount; [00:44:25] career as a councillor, working in housing; [00:48:00] Recent elections and signs of recovery; move towards residential area; [00:53:45] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade, love for steam trains; [01:00:00] Shildon railway works, workers coming out of the works, [01:03:51] works open days; [01:05:15] impact of the works closure in 1984, signs of recovery; [01:11:46] sports as a child, meeting his wife [01:14:59] [end of disc 1] [Disc 2] activities and leisure in Shildon, rock and roll, dancing, fashions and culture; [00:07:20] housing then and now, development; [00:11:24] making do, clippy mats; [00:14:00] New Shildon old shopping area; [00:15:40] open cast mining; [00:19:58] carnival, foot running, gambling and cheating; dressing up; [00:24:24] Shildon’s Banana factory, Geest; [00:28:09] the Dunns; [00:30:25] Shildon people, problems with private rents; [00:32:30] poverty as a child, neighbours arguing; [00:36:20] extreme weather, snow in 1947, flooding; [00:42:35] paste eggs, "jarping", holidays, working men's clubs; [00:49:16] the Railway Institute; [00:53:12] boxing, learning to box at Hackworth's workshop, watching fights [01:02:06] [end of disc 2] [end of interview]

Garry Huntington interviewed by Jo Bath

2004-02-24
Rushes / 08/2005 / Filmed by Chris Hogg / Including shots of the site internal and external exhibits and visitors shunting King Feisal outside the collections building

master MiniDV Rushes 'Locomotion, August 2005- Tape 1'

2005
15/07/2004 / Filmed by Chris Hogg / On the A1 at Scotch corner, entering Shildon town, into Locomotion

Master MiniDV 'Deltic to Locomotion, 2'

2004-07-15
Plaque, wood, steel, embossed image of Dandy Cart in a wooden frame.

Plaque featuring image of Dandy Cart

Rushes / Tape 3 / 08-09/2003 / Filmed by Chris Hogg / Preparing the ground for construction of the collections building (15/08/2003), Progress on the foundations of the collections building (12/09/2003)

Master MiniDV 'Shildon Locomotion construction-3'

2009
Rushes / Tape 1 / 02-04/2003 / Filmed by Chris Hogg / Interior and exterior of Welcome, exterior of Hackworth plus goods work on car park (14/02/2003), Progress on car park and Welcome (14/03/2003), Progress on car park and Welcome interior and exterior (08/04/2003)

Master MiniDV 'Shildon Locomotion construction-1'

2003
Oral history interview with Rose Hails conducted by Robert Aitchison on 29 January 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Original duration: 1 hour 15 minutes, however there are many distortions throughout the recording, resulting in 16 minutes of audible recording via the digital access file. Buildings remaining in Shildon; Railway Institute; [00:01:40] childhood, family background, maiden name (Rosena Wardle), born in Shildon, mother born in Shields, father a joiner in the pit, parents’ house, tin bath, larder, no cockroaches trouble, grandmother baked every day, one big meal per day, ate garden produce, livestock, plain food, little meat; [00:05:50] health aids, cod liver oil; [00:07:00] traders in Shildon; allotments, most had an allotment, well in garden; [00:08:30] Recreation Ground, in New Shildon, shops, cinemas; [00:10:30] housing, flat, open toilet, kitchen straight out into the yard, cleaning out toilet, gas lighting, two bedrooms; [00:12:40] other memories; able to read, learning to play piano, piano teacher, grandma had an organ, deaths in family [00:16:10] [end of interview]

Rose Hails interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-01-29
Oral history interview with George Bellas (session 1 of 2) conducted and recorded by Robert Aitchison on 5 February 2004, as part of the Time Track oral history collecting initiative. Original duration: 49 minutes, however there are many distortions throughout the recording, resulting in 35 minutes of audible recording via the digital access file. Born 1939, railway career 1954-1984. Childhood, birth, education; start work at Shildon railway works aged 15 years, career, drawing office-boy, apprenticeship fitter, fitter and turner until Works closure [00:02:00] works closure, views on Margaret Thatcher, closure outcome; fitter work, repair side in bogie shop, new construction, Merry-go-Round wagons description; [00:05:00] working conditions; wages, environment, apprenticeship description, no effect on health, noise impact, management, foremen varied; [00:10:00] size and location of Shildon Works; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, volunteering; [00:11:30] views on development of Locomotion museum; [00:12:00] moved to Maintenance; closure of Shildon railway works, impact on local area, loss of apprenticeships, bitter feelings; [distortion in audio recording] [00:14:00] impact of closure on community and wider area, other industries, mental health, attempted suicides; [00:16:00] Shildon railway works closure, government role, privatisation and sending work abroad, politics of the area, union marches in London against the closure, [distortion in audio recording] Neil Kinnock visit at Shildon; [00:22:00] impact of closure on local shops, hardship for families, including those not at Shildon works, psychological effect, mental health; impact on own family, own employment status after closure [distortion in audio recording, work in insurance, at a furniture makers and engineering firm; [00:24:00], Shildon works canteen, work satisfaction, comparison to working at mine; men tended to follow in father’s footsteps for work; better chance of getting a job if father or relative worked at the railway works; [00:26:00] childhood, start work at 15, had sufficient food, close community, trust, safety, would lend each other food or other things, left front and back doors open; [00:28:00] 1947, rationing, queuing for food; eating first banana at age 4, possibly got more food selection due to location of railway; [00:30:00] life in Shildon, recreation, leisure activities, three cinemas in Shildon, went once a week if lucky, no TVs, shops, Co-op was the biggest shop with smaller corner shops around, virtually everyone had an allotment to supplement food; [00:32:00] German bomber came down near Shildon, some billeted soldiers nearby; strong community spirit in Shildon, around the Shildon railway works, not as strong now (2004); some accidents at the works but rarely fatal; workers were aware of what they were doing, so relatively safe place to work , [distortion in audio recording] [00:34:58] [end of interview]

George Bellas interviewed by Robert Aitchison (session 1 of 2)

2004-02-05
Oral history interview with Harry Whitfield, conducted and recorded on 13 February 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 36 minutes 6 seconds. Born 1920 in Shildon; early life; Shildon works; smiths shop; machine shop; fitters; millwrights; Shildon show; World War II; wartime work; women working during the war; crossing gates; redundancy 1982; closure of Shildon railway works 1984; family; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade; Queen Mother's visit; 1926 General Strike; coal drops; accidents; Shildon cinema; Shildon station

Harry Whitfield interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-02-13
Oral history interview with Mary Wright conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 14 minutes. [Track 01] Born in Shildon, childhood 1930s, father on the railways, leaving school at age 14, shop assistant Bishop Auckland, work at Co-op Shildon, memories of funerals; [00:07:10] Second World War, billeted soldiers, little to eat, rationing, little social life; [00:09:50] work as a school clerk at end of war; evacuees, details of work; [00:13:00] co-op work; boredom, rats at work, dislike of work, left 1945; [00:20:30] secretarial work at Printing Works; break in; [00:23:00] working for police force or at Shildon Works; interview for secretarial work for police; offered job at Shildon railway works; [00:25:40] Newton Aycliffe history, built around munitions factory; [00:26:50] factories built at Shildon; [00:28:00] working life memories; dancing, social life, Spennymoor Rink; [00:30:00] life at Shildon Works; clerical work, monotonous, family members and the War, over staffed, weather of winter 1947; [00:36:30] work in Shildon Works stores; poor quality of work, met husband, few women at Shildon Works, rats in the works, cat at home; [00:46:00] chapel; soldiers used dining room during war, dead rats' story; [00:48:50] further employment; employed 4 years at Works, married, work at Marks & Spencer [00:50:48] [end of track 01] [Track 02] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, “Shildon's finest hour”, provided Bed & Breakfast, marvellous experience, Cavalcade; [00:05:00] Shildon works, “buzzer” story, father at Works during Second World War, 12-hour shifts during war, died at aged 51 years, poor air quality in Shildon, friendly; [00:10:20] views on life now: Shildon “smarter” now, no one “hard up”, comparison with Darlington; [00:13:00] Shildon works closure; [00:13:50] Shildon Carnivals, yearly, revived now, lack of “spirit” now, photographs; [00:18:00] Geest banana factory at Shildon, story of a driver at the factory; [00:23:00] reflections on own family [00:23:41] [end of track 02] [end of interview]

Mary Wright interviewed by Jo Bath

2004
Oral history interview with Diane Bolton and Diane Elliot conducted by Jo Bath on the 4th February 2004. Duration 41 min. 36 sec. Factory Workers for Astraka Fur; Childhood; parents jobs; education; working at the Fur factory; machines; roles; sewing coats for the 1980 winter Olympic team; Uniform; social side of work; break rooms; average working day; singing at work; protesting closure of shops; accidents; wages; paying parents 'board'; closure of factory; nightlife;

Diane Bolton and Diane Elliot interviewed by Jo Bath

2004-02-04
Oral history interview with Brian Ellison conducted by Robert Aitchison on 24 February 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Original duration: 1 hour 13 minutes, however there are many distortions throughout the recording, resulting in 32 minutes of audible recording via the digital access file. Education, All Saints’ School, Timothy Hackworth School, County School; Employment at Shildon Works, boy runner, apprentice fitter, inspection, foreman; apprenticeship, learning to file, marking off drawings, work with a fitter, training by fitter; [00:02:05] post apprenticeship, National Service, return to Works, fitter, promotion, building high-capacity wagons, 1965 onwards, working conditions, good, supervising in paint shop, superintendent Mr. Baldry, line side gear production; Darlington works closure, Shildon Works closure [00:05:20], meetings, possibility of saving Works, NUR involvement; post closure, seeking another job; [00:08:50] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, steward, enjoyable, fantastic, paintings, Sans Pareil painting by John Slater; [00:10:00] life in Shildon, social life, church warden, cinemas, good football team, lots to do but a lot of people in the town; [00:12:30] after works closure, lot of people moved away, wife worked at clothing factory which closed, other closures; [00:13:00] childhood, Sunday School, playing; snow drifts, 15-foot drifts, cut-off from Darlington, snow ploughing; [00:16:20] father’s job, fitter at different firms, visit to Woolsingham Works; [00:17:50] Shildon shops, high street, Mr Pigs store, Mr Crookes chemists, Turnbull General Dealers; [00:18:40] religion, chapel, change in religious interest; [00:19:30] living in Shildon, changed, Works closure affected the area, community revolved around the Works; [00:21:20] meeting a Zambian railway worker who stayed with BE, BE’s wife contributing to interview; church visit; more details of meeting with a railway worker from Zambia [00:31:26]

Brian Ellison interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-02-24
Oral history interview with Olive Connor, conducted and recorded by Jo Bath in 2004, as part of the Time Track oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 3 minutes. Childhood, born in New Shildon in 1921, school in Shildon; Work, farm work in Piercebridge, return to Shildon where remained; [00:02:15] 1926 General Strike, father’s work during strike as boiler man, breaking wagons, tiredness; [00:05:10] father’s work in wheel gang, incident story; [00:06:50] memories of Shildon Works men; walking speed, meeting father at Works gate, streets of houses round the Works; [00:09:00] move to British Rail house; house description, questions why demolished?; [00:10:00] mother and fortune tellers, fortune teller’s house, weekly visit; [00:12:30] summer holiday, Piercebridge Farm; food eaten in childhood, ate well, father had a garden and hens; [00:14:10] work following farm work; live-in house maid for dentist with 4 children, then housekeeper (8 years), married dentist at age 24; [00:16:00] married life for 27 years, age difference; Second World War, called to help, excused her for childcare purposes, children’s life details; having a secret wedding; [00:20:40] father, member of Working Men’s Club, Sunday School teacher, pigeon fancier, father singing; [00:22:50] eldest brother electrician at Shildon Shops, started in “dipping shed”, then office work, night school leading to becoming an electrician; [00:24:00] other brother failed to get into Works, became a plumber, Navy in Second World War, post war worked at Darlington Rolling Mills until retirement; [00:26:00] further household details when married, large house, garden, livestock, fruit trees; [00:27:00] Second World War, almost self-sufficient, Shildon plane crash, air raid shelter, tunnel under house; [00:31:10] pits in Shildon, only work choice was pits or Shildon Shops; [00:32:10] work for women, little except housework, few women worked until WWII, work at the church; [00:33:20] sewing, sewing class, sewing for four children, knitting during the war; [00:36:30] Health Care memories; Senna Pod “memories”, generally healthy family, whooping cough, Hannah Hauxwell story; [00:41:00] dental work experience, helped in 1960’s, paperwork, workshop, surgery; [00:43:10] activities in spare time, church group, little social life, group day trips; [00:45:00] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade, watched from street, Locomotion building; [00:48:50] visits to Shildon Railway Works open days; 1927 walking through Royal Train, visit to Locomotion (pre-opening), no memories of 1950 anniversary; [00:52:40] Shildon Agricultural Show, large famous event, lots of visitors; [00:53:30] Shildon Carnival, jazz bands, decline; [00:54:30] crafting, lots of brass in Shildon, made in Shildon Shops, mat making; [00:59:00] extreme weather, heavy snow events [01:03:22] [end of interview]

Olive Connor interview by Jo Bath

2004
Oral history interview with Walter Nunn recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 2nd June 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour. Set up in Shildon after the second World War; cost of living; canvassed for labour party; other industries in Shildon as well as railway; use of horses; loss of jobs at Shildon railway works; [00:05:00] competition from Newton Aycliffe; communities; lack of running water; Darlington Rural covered part of Shildon; effect of tuberculosis on housing list; [00:10:00] points system for housing list; social problems; welder affected by overcrowding; queue jumping; [00:15:00] new towns; industry needed; closure of works influenced new plans; school leavers; [00:20:00] Shildon works holidays; British Railways Touring club; travel abroad; deckchair story; timetables; good behaviour; [00:25:00] no burglaries until 1970’s; anti-social behaviours; looking after your mates; collecting money for poor people from poor people; [00:30:00] personal views of 1950’s, 1960’s 1970’s as a time for opportunity; socialist principles; methodist preacher; [00:35:00] personal views on Tory party; levels of poverty, general health, vaccination in 1960’s; [00:40:00] retirement housing, bungalows, Shildon; peel potatoes or go to church service; sermon about bucket of ink and water; [00:45:00] leisure, entertainment in Shildon, Hippodrome Magnet Cosy, sound effects at cinema, different film every night of week, first films named, radio in 1920’s and 1930’s; [00:50:00] nightingale bird singing across Europe; Monday night at 7 or 8; listening to Larry Adler; first stretch of motorway; test card C on television; [00:55:00] cinemas dropped off; amateur pantomime and musicals; personal views of television; relationship with neighbours [00:59:52] [end of interview]

Walter Nunn interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-06-02
Oral history interview with Iris Holmes, conducted and recorded by Jo Bath on 16 February 2004, as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 42 minutes. Family background, father railway worker, Shildon works; Astraka fake fur factory, manufacturing clothes, employment, working conditions, routine, gender roles and division, pay; other factories, industries in Shildon; family context; pay; life in Shildon, leisure activities; reflections on work at Astraka, factory closure, unions, work benefits

Iris Holmes interviewed by Jo Bath

2004-02-16
Oral history interview with Bob Robinson conducted by Jo Bath on 22 April 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 1 hour 12 minutes. Bob worked at Shildon railway works from 1946 until the closure in 1984, primarily as a welder. Family background; 1900 brass model of an engine [00:04:00]; father moving to find work; [00:06:15] getting work and almost becoming an engine driver; [00:08:00] work at blacksmiths shop at Shildon railway works; National Service; [00:10:47] team work on axle boxes, practical jokes, nicknames, [00:15:50] starting work, meals, workplace camaraderie, rivalry; [00:20:46] work at blacksmith shop; childhood, games played, engine sheds and river woods as playground; [00:26:33] Second World War, brothers’ army careers; air raid, Shildon and surrounding areas, air raid shelter at the engine sheds; [00:30:13] working as a welder, welding wagons; [00:33:30] accidents; industrial illness; health and safety equipment, PPE; [00:38:00] working part-time as inspector; [00:41:00] help from fire fighting team looking for cracks; [00:43:23] reactions to Shildon works closure, impact of closure; [00:51:48] clocking system at Shildon works; [00:53:40] leisure and activities, Shildon Railway Institute, dances, meeting his wife, playing football; relationship with miners; unions; [01:00:20] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary; [01:05:08] cats at Shildon works; [01:08:30] enjoying working on patent wagons, costumed one-off jobs; work atmosphere at Shildon works, sense of community [01:12:18] [end of interview]

Bob Robinson interviewed by Jo Bath

2004-04-22
Oral history interview with William (Bill) Dunnington recorded and conducted by Robert Aitchison on 18 June 2004 as part of the Time Tracks oral history collecting initiative. Duration: 19 minutes. Born 1923 in Shildon, childhood, school; career start, Caxton Press type setter (1937), father on dole, 1939 Caxton Press stopped, father into air force, WD on dole 2 weeks, job as a presser in factory in Shildon making army battle dress, moved with factory to West Auckland until 1940, move to Shildon railway works as a riveter; [00:03:30] further career; Darlington Motive Power Depot (1941-1962), cleaner, fireman, West Auckland Depot, driver, Shildon, diesel driver, details about cement train work, Shildon–Leeds trains, other train workings, Shildon Depot closure 1969, WD returned to Darlington Depot until retirement on ill health aged 63 years; [00:06:50] other railway work experiences, main line driving, locomotive memories including Dominion of Canada, driving Flying Scotsman; 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, cavalcade, huge crowds of spectators, good experience, firing locomotives, job enjoyment; [00:12:30] railway career, first experiences, engine cleaning, huge machines, overall job enjoyment; [00:15:20] 1975 celebrations, Stockton and Darlington 150th anniversary, moved locomotives into running order, Flying Scotsman movement, meeting with Sir Kenneth Moore [00:19:24] [end of interview]

Bill Dunington interviewed by Robert Aitchison

2004-06-18