A MAJOR railway wagon factory which employed 2,600 people when it closed is the subject of a new photography display.

Shildon Wagon Works opened in 1825 and went on to build thousands of rail wagons.

It finally closed on June 29, 1984 and the Hackworth Industrial Park was later built at the site.

The Friends of the National Railway Museum (North East Branch) has created a new display entitled The Story of Shildon Works.

This has gone on show at Shildon: The National Railway Museum at Shildon.

Ken Wharlton, a member of the friends group, worked at the wagon works.

He said: “I was a welder at the Shildon site until 1977 and then I was promoted to York to help to train track workers.

“It came out of the blue that it was going to close and when it did it was devastating for the town.

“We hope to celebrate the engineering heritage of the town with this display. It has been a bit of a problem finding some of the pictures but we’re happy with the result.”

The wagon works was the main employer in the Shildon area. It covered 55 acres and in 1956 its workers repaired or maintained 35,000 wagons.

The wage bill for the factory in 1956 was £38,000 and at one time it was served by 20 miles of rail track.

Among the visitors viewing the display was Bob Murton who started at the wagon works as a 14-year-old and who went on to become a head draftsman.

The display is on show until June 12 between 10am and 5pm with free entry.