Darlington Locomotive Works served the railways for more than 100 years before closing on this day 60 years ago – 1st April 1966.

Originally opened in 1863 by the Stockton & Darlington Railway shortly before it amalgamated with the North Eastern Railway, it employed over 3,800 people at its peak in 1954 under British Railways, shaping the Darlington’s identity and engineering reputation.

From the giants of steam to early diesel locomotives, the works built it all right up until national changes in the 1950s and 1960s spelled the end of large scale steam engineering.

Over 700 locomotives were built there under Sir Nigel Gresley’s time as CME of the LNER. The first to his design, a class K3, was completed in 1924 with the last, a class V2, in 1944, three years after his death.

Gresley-designed locomotives built at Darlington works included classes K3, J38, J39, D49, W1, B17,K4 and V4. Gresley continued to build some of his predecessors designs at the works in the early years of the LNER, including classes B16, J27, Y7, A2, Q7 and T1. Darlington continued to build his successors’ LNER designs, classes B1, A2, A1, L1 and J72 until 1951. Its last steam locomotive was completed in 1957 and its final diesel in 1964.

But the legacy hasn’t been forgotten. Today, only traces remain. The clock on the side of Morrisons North Road, a few buildings, and a huge amount of pride for a piece of important railway history.