The wail of the Railway Works hooter was once again heard in Swindon today.
At 4.30pm, exactly 40 years after the Works closed for the last time along with a momentous chapter of local history, a replica hooter was sounded by former foundryman Ron Johnson.
It was 75-year-old Mr Johnson who had also sounded the final shift finish hooter precisely four decades earlier.
The momentous occasion at STEAM was watched by an audience including former railway workers and their loved ones, members of heritage organisations and borough councillors including Mayor of Swindon Cllr Fay Howard, council leader Cllr Jim Robbins and Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Planning Cllr Marina Strinkovsky.
Mr Johnson spoke of his pride at having been a railway worker, and of having sounded the hooter to mark the anniversary.
Surveying the crowd he said: "Look at what it means to all these people. I'm so proud - it's a lovely day."
Cllr Robbins said: "I'm really pleased to see so many people come out to recognise such an important event.
"It's clearly a massive anniversary for the town; obviously not something that we're celebrating as it was a sad day for the town, but it's really important to recognise the impact that it had.
"It's so nice to see so many people coming here, sharing their old pictures, telling their stories of what it was like when they worked in the Railway Works - 'Inside' as they say."
The replica hooter was powered by steam from a 1915 traction engine controlled by local expert heritage and steam engineer Colin Hatch, who has taken part in many heritage events.
The sounding of the hooter was merely one of a series of events commemorating the historic occasion.
A free exhibition will run in STEAM's Hawksworth Hall until Saturday 28 March, with local heritage groups displaying images and artifacts, and tomorrow evening - Friday 27 March - a film made by Martin Parry in 1986, will be shown. Details and ticketing information can be found at www.steam-museum.org.uk
On Saturday 28 March from 11am, there will be a series of half-hour talks by various speakers about various aspects of the closure.
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