A BOOK packed with previously unseen images of the Railway Works will be launched at the Central Library tomorrow.

Swindon Works Through Time is a joint project by local historians Andy Binks and Peter Timms.

Peter, 60, is the author of three previous books about the Works. The most recent, Swindon Works 1930-1960, was published last summer.

Andy, also 60, has helped countless researchers through his membership of the Swindon Society, but Swindon Works Through Time marks his first author credit.

Peter said: “Amberley, the publishers, produce a series of books called Through Time to try to give a sense of how things change, and tell people about the historical side of things using short captions.

“They asked me about three years ago if I would produce a Through Time book on Swindon Works because nobody else seemed to want to do it, or else was able to do it.”

The book is filled with pairs of images. Some show scenes from the Works during different periods in its operational history, while others compare historic shots with modern ones of what is now the Swindon Designer Outlet.

In many cases, rails of clothing are shown in the exact spots where generations of railway workers toiled in years gone by.

Peter added: “I wasn’t sure whether I could find enough photographs that were suitable.

“You can’t just put any photographs in – when paired up with others they have to give a sense of period and how things change.

“You need ‘now’ and ‘then’ photos and it’s not as easy as it sounds.

“If you go to the same scene today where a photograph was taken a hundred years ago, you might not be able to get access to it.”

That was where Andy came in. His local knowledge and database of images proved vital to the project.

Andy said: “Half of the challenge was not to show people things they’d seen before.

“When you pick up a lot of local history books you see the same old photographs, usually from a certain time.

“It’s all stuff that’s already been seen by everybody.

“Fortunately, I took photographs in the late 70s and early 80s and they’ve come in handy.

“They’ve never been published before so they’ll be new to people.”

Peter said: “Andy was an obvious choice, and if I’d had to trudge along on my own I don’t know whether I would have got through it.

“It certainly wouldn’t have been half the book it is.”

Tomorrow’s launch at the Central Library starts at 11.30am.

The book, ISBN 978-1-4456-261-1, is usually priced at £14.99, but will be available for a launch price of £12.50.

Profits from Swindon Works Through Time will be divided between cancer charity Macmillan and the Swindon Society.