The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as the Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, crossings and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Due to the distance from the locomotive works in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, it seemed preferable to build and support them locally. In 1832, Robert Stephenson became a partner for a few years. The company had become The Vulcan Foundry Company in 1847 and acquired limited liability in 1864.

From the beginning of 1898, the name changed again to The Vulcan Foundry Limited, dropping the word 'company.' The works has produced many locomotives for both domestic and foreign railways. It was a major supplier of diesel-electrics to British Railways notably the Class 55 Deltic. The works also developed a prototype gas turbine locomotive, the British Rail GT3.

In 1957, the purchase of Vulcan was finalised and the business became part of the English Electric group.  Although the works still produced diesel engines under name Ruston Paxman Diesels Limited, which had been moved from Lincoln, locomotive manufacturing finished in 1970