"Service to Industry"

Managed to get to the Kings twice over Christmas, once with an old friend, and once with my wife.
The second occasion on Boxing Day was far busier than the 21st was!

It's one of those pubs that has been greatly altered / expanded over the years; so we sat down in a quieter area designed for eating in, not drinking in!

But the advantage was I spotted this little gem of an old British Rail poster.

So here's a potted history of Billingham:

"The great I C I chemical works at Billingham-on-Tees depend on British Railways for the Delivery each year of nearly two million tons of coal, 150,000 tons of other commodities, and for the dispatch of three-quartes of a million tons of fertilisers, cement, bulk liquids and other products"

Sadly, ICI outlived British Rail, but not my long.

Parts of the plant still remain, run by other companies but the behemoth that was Imperial Chemical Industries has long gone.

Add into the mix the more recent closure of the steel works at Redcar, the skyline of the Tees estuary will look very different in years to come compared to the futuristic industrial skyline that inspired Ridley Scott for his Bladerunner opening shots; and also Aldous Huxleys; Brave New World.