A HERITAGE railway station is reopening to tourists this weekend despite no trains running on the troubled line.

Volunteers are manning Stanhope Station, the main station on the Weardale Railway line, in County Durham, to open it to visitors across the bank holiday weekend.

No trains have run on the five-mile line between Wolsingham and Stanhope since Weardale Railways Ltd, the company which operated it, went into voluntary administration in January.

Since then, The Weardale Railway Trust has continued to work behind the scenes to support moves to get the line back on track with a private company in charge.

Trust members have decided to open the station because they feel bank holiday visitors to the County Durham dale may want to see what they are aiming to achieve with the railway project.

A shop selling products connected with the railway will be open.

Volunteers will be on hand to show visitors around the station from tomorrow to Monday, from 11am to 3.30pm each day.