In its heyday during the 1920s and 30s more than 12,000 people were employed in the booming workshops of the Great Western Railway.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel the man responsible for bringing the railway to Swindon, is regarded as one of the world's greatest engineers.
In 2002 he was voted the second greatest Briton of all time behind wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, beating competition from Diana Princess of Wales, John Lennon and Charles Darwin.
Brunel's landmark decision to build the works in Swindon in 1843 on the 118-mile GWR is widely hailed as the birth of the town.
The official naming ceremony of the last steam locomotive engine No. 92220 the Evening Star on March 18, 1960 was a sad day for Swindonians and marked an end of an era for the town.
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