A visit to Lancing Carriage Works in its heyday must have been an unforgettable experience.

The site was huge, covering at least 66 acres, dominated by giant, cathedral-like worksheds housing an army of skilled employees.

Inside the sheds, a person's senses were overwhelmed by the fierce heat from the foundry, the deafening sound of clanging hammers, the spectacular sight of welders consumed by showers of sparks, the strangely graceful movement of 20-ton overhead cranes, and the nauseating smell of paint and varnish intermingled.

It was a bubbling cauldron of activity, in direct contrast to Worthing, the genteel, upmarket seaside resort and health spa on its doorstep.

The carriage works opened in 1912 and at its peak employed almost 2,000 people on an industrial conveyor belt, overhauling rolling stock.

The site was so large it even boasted its own fire brigade of 12 men equipped with a foam tender to fight blazes in sometimes volatile, unforgiving and dangerous conditions.

Old photographs show giant open-plan sheds, with men in flat caps and aprons standing alongside row after row of sturdy work benches.

The employees formed their own military band and many of the departments boasted skittles, football and swimming teams.

At its peak, the factory could restore 2,500 carriages in a year, with each one taking 25 days to complete.

There were departments devoted to clothcutting, sewing and French polishing, plus a paint shop and a section for polishing brass fittings.

Blacksmiths in leather aprons and mittens tended huge coke fires, from which molten metal could be poured and fashioned into key components.

During the First World War, the works constructed hospital trains but many men signed up for active service, with 76 paying the ultimate price.

In the Second World War, some of the workshops were used to build pontoons and the tail-ends of Horsa gliders.

The site was defended by four Bofors anti-aircraft gun emplacements, some manned by the factory's Home Guard.

German tip-and-run raiders regarded it as a prime target and launched several lightning attacks, resulting in serious damage and numerous injuries.

On April 23, 1941, a stack of high explosive bombs wounded 14 people and eight houses were destroyed.

This was followed by another attack on September 30, 1942, when bombs hit the Pullman shed with devastating effect, damaging 56 houses in the vicinity and causing 18 casualties.

A memorial to the men who lost their lives in both wars during active service with the Army, Navy and RAF was formerly situated at the north end of Bessborough Terrace, near Lancing fire station.

But the passage of time took its toll and after years of neglect the memorial was moved to Lancing Church in South Street, where it is now looked after.

In the early Sixties, Dr Beeching unveiled a series of devastating cuts in rural railway services and the Lancing factory was doomed.

The Argus reported: "Dr Beeching wielded his axe with unerring aim and the blow he struck was always fatal."

Workers were "amazed, dumbfounded and shocked" at their fate, and many warned that the demise of the carriage works amounted to the assassination of Lancing, saying it was destined to become a redundant and dead village.

It was estimated that of the weekly £25,000 payroll, almost £10,000 was paid to Lancing residents and was spent in the village by railwaymen's wives, fuelling a vibrant economy.

A similar amount was spent in Worthing, which felt the blow just as keenly.

Another editorial in The Argus stated: "Most of the workers are family men with a long tradition of working as railwaymen. Many have substantial mortgages."

It was also a blow to the scores of young apprentices, who served for five years and had 13 trades to choose from.

The unions fought a vain rearguard action in a bid to save at least part of the works but between 1962 and 1965 the staff roll-call diminished from 1,685 to just 38.

The factory finally closed without ceremony on June 25, 1965, and could easily have been cleared for housing.

But local councils, fearing a considerable rise in unemployment, seized the opportunity to turn the area into the Churchill Industrial Estate, which was recently renamed the Lancing Business Park.

Today, the site is occupied by dozens of businesses, employing hundreds of people across a wide spectrum, ranging from blue chip companies to scrap metal dealers.

Trawling through old newspaper cuttings, I was surprised to find a connection between train pioneer George Stephenson, founder of The Rocket locomotive, and Worthing.

Apparently, the famous inventor lived for several years in cottages now occupied by Sion School, between Crescent Road and Gratwicke Road.

Can readers shed any further light on the subject?