Boiler and cylinder, mine old friends tell me, were got from Newcastle"In 1827, Timothy Hackworth built the locomotive Royal George at the Soho Works.
[3] At the time of the announcement the works employed 2,600 people and amounted to 86% of the male workforce's manufacturing jobs in the town.
"A trade union march was organised for 29 April, which was to assemble at 10am on the playing field of Sunnydale School.
Members of the Sedgefield District Council closure working party were authorised to attend as 'approved duty' with pay.
The march worked its way through the town, led by figures including Derek Foster MP and Roland Boyes MEP, to the local football ground.
[3] "More than 5000 people poured through the doomed railway town yesterday in the biggest show of strength in its history.
The protest line was a mile long... Shildon came to a sudden standstill as 2,500 wagon workers marched to save their jobs joined by women, children, and pensioners.
"BREL set out its case for closure in a special edition of Railtalk Magazine using a question and answer format.
It stated that closure would result in the loss of 2,180 jobs and leave one in four of the "insured population in the Bishop Auckland Employment Exchange area" unemployed.
[3] At 19.30 on the evening of 7 May a trades union meeting was held in the works canteen to discuss progress in the campaign to save the facility.
[3] On 25 May a deputation left the for London with 600 people travelling south in eleven coaches from Darlington at 07.15 bound for Kings Cross.
[3] On 29 May there was a large rally in Shildon with marchers moving off from the Civic Hall to the park at 10.30 and speeches beginning at 11.15.
"On the same day the Northern Echo reported that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was to meet with local MP Derek Foster to discuss the Shildon closure plan.
"On 4 June BR announced a postponement of the closure with a decision to come in early 1983 on the future of the works.
The six week battle to save Shildon was won on Friday night when British Rail management postponed controversial plans to axe the whole work force from April next year.
[3] On 18 August acting works manager Dennis Lees wrote to all staff - [3] 'As you are aware we are currently facing serious workload shortages...
In the event that sufficient volunteers do not come forward, the alternative at the present time can only be a shorter working week for everybody as there is no intention to enforce redundancy.
For this reason I am again asking for staff to apply for voluntary redundancy'.The Daily Mirror ran a two-page spread about the town on 4 October - [3] 'Walter Nunn has been a railwayman since January 1938... standing beside a replica of the Hackworth's locomotive he said, "The process has already begun.
They're cutting the bloodline"'.In December 1982 the Association of District Councils (ADC) reported that BR wagons at that time carrying scrap metal were to be 'life-expired and withdrawn from service by May 1984'.
This announcement resulted in discussions at the Policy and Resources Committee of Sedgefield District Council on 13 December.
The act allowed for private or public industry to build their own access to sidings on the rail network.
Hopes that these new wagons would be built at Shildon were soon dashed, with the Policy Resource Committee reporting - [3] 'Foreseeing the position which will arise in 1984, a Working Party of representatives from BR, British Steel Corporation, and the Scrap Federation plans to introduce a nationwide rail service in new purpose-built wagons for which a grant from the Government under Section 8 (Railway Act 1974) is required if the scheme is to be viable....
The ADC points out that for such a grant to be forthcoming the support of local authorities whose road network would be affected by the lorry movement is required and Councils are asked to write to the Dept.
of Transport supporting grant aid to the Standard Railway Wagon Company Ltd which is prepared to build the special new box wagons'.Any new wagons for the movement of scrap metal in areas that would be adversely impacted by an increase in road haulage were to be built by private industry.
Local MP Derek Foster believed that the campaign to save the works had been a "tremendous achievement" but that it had made little difference to the outcome.
[3] In June, Minister for Trade and Industry Norman Lamont wrote to Councillor G. W. Terrans (Leader, Durham County Council Labour Group) - '...With regard to the Shildon closures, the Government has shown its concern at the implication for local employment by setting up a committee of BR, Local Authority and Government officials to examine ways of maximising assistance.
[3] The Evening Despatch reported in August 1983 - [3] 'Workers at Shildon Wagon 'Works are to receive drastically improved redundancy pay offers.
BREL are also sending a team of redundancy experts to the Works to give advice to the 1,000 men who face the dole if closure goes ahead.
A BREL spokesman, Bernard Ault said, 'This extension of supplementary payments will increase the financial terms available to many employees not wishing to transfer to other areas'".Labour leader Neil Kinnock MP visited Shildon on 28 April 1984 and spoke on the situation - [3] "I wish I could come here with good news, or a change of view by the Government, but I cannot.