A THEATRE company has donated a full-scale replica of the world's first passenger locomotive to a railway heritage project.

Newcastle-based Northern Stage has given the model of George Stephenson's Locomotion Number One on indefinite loan to the region's Train Trail project, which consists of eight rail-related attractions.

The replica was commissioned by Northern Stage as a key prop for Blaze!, the community opera which finishes its week-long run at Darlington Railway Museum this evening.

Angela Brockbank, Darlington's railway and associated heritage project officer, said: "I think it is wonderful that the company is donating it.

"We don't know where it's going to go yet, but it could go somewhere like Stockton, which needs something like that.

"It's quite big and looks exactly the same as Locomotion Number One, and we thought people should be able to enjoy it rather than it just going into storage somewhere."

Tickets for tonight's performance of Blaze!, priced from £2.50 to £7, are available from (01325) 486555.

Published: 31/07/2004