RAIL enthusiasts working to reopen the Weardale line between Bishop Auckland and Stanhope were dealt a shattering blow yesterday when the arrival of their first steam locomotive was cancelled.

The Weardale Railway Locomotive Group was due to take delivery of the engine Norwood this afternoon and then celebrate with a long-planned open day tomorrow at Wolsingham.

But they have had to call off both events because group members have been banned from their workshops on the Weardale Steel site, where adminstrators were called in two weeks ago.

Philip Revill, joint administrator for the company, said he had taken the decision for health and safety reasons.

Railway spokesman Gill Chatfield said the cancellation was a huge blow for the project.

The revival of the railway, which ran its last passenger service in 1953, is a key element in a strategy to restore prosperity to Weardale in the wake of more than 200 job losses at Weardale Steel and Lafarge Cement's Eastgate works.

Mr Chatfield said: "The arrival of the Norwood would have been a major step forward. It would have been a big day for us and we are all very disappointed.

"Although it will not affect the overall project because we are determined to go ahead, there will be an anxious wait while the administrator tries to find a buyer for the site."