A strike in 1911 saw violent scenes in the town and British troops deployed to maintain order.
A driver of a mineral train was stoned and dragged from his engine.
He was pursued by an angry mob and had to be rescued by soldiers.
Mineral wagons had their bottom doors undone and the contents allowed to fall out.
Wagons in the sidings had their brakes undone and freewheeled for miles, railway signal cables were damaged and the cavalry had to be called.
At one stage soldiers had to mount a Bayonet charge to clear a bridge.
The New Shildon Strike Committee condemned the government for deploying the army and called for their withdrawal.

Moving further into the 20th Century the Shildon Works became the largest wagon works in the world by 1976, employing 2,600 people.
The works built 1,000 wagons a year and repaired more besides.
The 27 miles of sidings made Shildon home to what was believed to be the largest sidings in the world.
This was until the construction of the Chicago marshalling yards in 1927.

There were concerns for the future of the railway works in the 1930s.
The London and North Eastern Railway Company had decided to concentrate their operations to Darlington.
Local MP Aaron Curry addressed the matter in the House of Commons on 14 December 1934.

"After all, Shildon is the home of the production of railways.
Shildon is a town which grew up upon railway production—engines and so forth —and there is not a town in the whole of my division the future of which gives me greater concern than that town, with its population of 15,000 people.
The collieries upon which they lived have already been not merely closed down but dismantled, and if now, on the top of that, you are going to permit of the transference of the railway shops, I tremble to think what will be the future of that once prosperous township".

— Aaron Curry MP, Hansard – 14 December 1934
The Soho works laid derelict since the 1940s and were scheduled for demolition in the 1970s when many of the buildings fell into disrepair.
However, the buildings were saved when they were restored and opened to the public as part of the Timothy Hackworth Museum.
The museum was opened on Thursday 17 July 1975 by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
A strike in 1911 saw violent scenes in the town and British troops deployed to maintain order. A driver of a mineral train was stoned and dragged from his engine. He was pursued by an angry mob and had to be rescued by soldiers. Mineral wagons had their bottom doors undone and the contents allowed to fall out. Wagons in the sidings had their brakes undone and freewheeled for miles, railway signal cables were damaged and the cavalry had to be called. At one stage soldiers had to mount a Bayonet charge to clear a bridge. The New Shildon Strike Committee condemned the government for deploying the army and called for their withdrawal.
Moving further into the 20th Century the Shildon Works became the largest wagon works in the world by 1976, employing 2,600 people. The works built 1,000 wagons a year and repaired more besides. The 27 miles of sidings made Shildon home to what was believed to be the largest sidings in the world. This was until the construction of the Chicago marshalling yards in 1927.
There were concerns for the future of the railway works in the 1930s. The London and North Eastern Railway Company had decided to concentrate their operations to Darlington. Local MP Aaron Curry addressed the matter in the House of Commons on 14 December 1934.
"After all, Shildon is the home of the production of railways. Shildon is a town which grew up upon railway production—engines and so forth —and there is not a town in the whole of my division the future of which gives me greater concern than that town, with its population of 15,000 people. The collieries upon which they lived have already been not merely closed down but dismantled, and if now, on the top of that, you are going to permit of the transference of the railway shops, I tremble to think what will be the future of that once prosperous township".
— Aaron Curry MP, Hansard – 14 December 1934
The Soho works laid derelict since the 1940s and were scheduled for demolition in the 1970s when many of the buildings fell into disrepair. However, the buildings were saved when they were restored and opened to the public as part of the Timothy Hackworth Museum. The museum was opened on Thursday 17 July 1975 by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Shildon