A book commemorating nearly 100 years of the Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company in Chippenham has been published.

The photographic record celebrates the working lives of thousands of staff employed on the site.

For the first time over 170 photographs are brought together, with subjects ranging from the earliest activities of its predecessor Evans O’Donnell in the 1890s to the technological advances of the late 20th century.

Money raised from the book’s sale will go to Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre, where it will be used to protect the Westinghouse collections and to support publications such as the Chippenham Studies series.

The new publication has been brought together by Mark Glover, part of the team behind A Hundred Years of Speed with Safety, the centennial history of Westinghouse written by Westinghouse employee O S Nock.

Mr Glover, who is the head of innovation at Invensys Rail Systems after working his way up from being an apprentice 25 years ago, said: “The main message is that Westinghouse is still here.

“We’re not in the past, we are proud to be still here and working in Wiltshire since the 1890s. This book is about celebrating the people who are working in the company.”

He added: “Local people know about the work Westinghouse does. There is a lot of interest about it still, and we’re hoping that people want to buy the book.

“The previous book focused particularly on the technical side, but this one covers the social history and celebrates people who have spent their working lives there. ”

Copies of Westinghouse Brake & Signal in Chippenham in Photographs 1894 to 1981 are available at £7.95 from the town’s museum & heritage centre, Swindon & Wiltshire History Centre, and online from www.polunnio.co.uk