GOING TO OR WILL

The past continuous is used to talk about past events which took place for a period of time.

It is used to emphasize the continuing process of an activity or the period of that activity. (If we want to talk about a past event as a simple fact, we use the past simple.)

While I was driving home, Richard was trying desperately to phone me.
Sorry, were you sleeping?
I was just making some tea. Would you like some?
I was thinking about her last night.
In the 1990s, very few people were using mobile phones.
We often use it to describe a "background action" when something else happened.

They were still waiting for the plane when I spoke to them.
He was talking to me on the phone and it suddenly went dead.
She was walking in the street when she suddenly fell over.
The company was growing rapidly before he became chairman.
We were just talking about it before you arrived.
I was having a cup of coffee when I remembered I was supposed to be in a meeting!