THE North-East's latest museum is urging visitors to support its attempt to win one of Britain's biggest art prizes.

Only months after it opened, Locomotion The National Railway Museum, in Shildon, County Durham, has been shortlisted for the Gulbenkian prize for museum of the year.

Bosses at the multi-million pound museum, which opened in September, are hoping to enlist the help of visitors and people in the region to bring the accolade to the North-East.

The venture by Sedgefield Borough Council and the National Railway Museum has already exceeded expectations by attracting more than 70,000 visitors in its first three months.

If it were to win the Gulbenkian prize, officials say it will be a proud moment for everyone involved.

Sedgefield Borough Council leisure services chief Phil Ball said: "As Locomotion is the only museum in the North of England to have been nominated, the bid team consider that it is the North against the rest.

"As part of the Gulbenkian process, both visitors and interested people are being asked to register their support for the shortlisted candidates via the Gulbenkian website.

"We want to encourage as many people as possible to log on to the website and register their support for Locomotion, in the same way as the London Olympic bid team are seeking support from throughout the country for when the International Olympic Committee members visit the capital in February."

Judges are expected to visit the museum early next month and the finalists will be announced on BBC2's Culture Show on March 18.

If it is wins, the museum will receive £100,000.

The money could pay for a secure display unit to exhibit a silver model of Locomotion, the engine that hauled the world's first public train from Shildon in 1825.

To support the museum, log on to www.thegulbenkianprize.org. uk

Published: 07/02/2005