A SERIES of events at Darlington Railway Museum this year should help boost visitor numbers.

The museum has undergone a facelift, with new displays and the former waiting room being converted to a picture gallery and video room.

The area next to the museum shop has been converted into a temporary exhibition gallery.

An education officer and a collections officer joined the staff at the beginning of the month, and more than 200 children will be visiting the museum in the next few weeks.

The museum is reconsidering its National Lottery bid and is consulting with the various groups based there for their ideas on how to take the museum forward.

It hopes to submit a National Lottery grant bid by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, it intends to boost visitor numbers with exhibitions and special themed weekends.

An exhibition about North Road Locomotive Works runs from May 18 to November 10, followed by Darlington Then and Now, featuring old photographs of the town and their modern day equivalents, from November 30 until March 29 next year.

The annual railway carnival is being replaced by a series of events designed to appeal to a wider audience.

In addition to the well-established toy fairs and Santa Special events, there will be a goods shed open day in June, a Thomas the Tank Engine weekend on July 20 and 21 and a series of five steam days during August.

The steam days will feature rides on the replica Sans Pareil locomotive from the Timothy Hackworth Museum, at Shildon.

A vintage bus event and a railwaymen's reunion are both planned for September.

The goods shed will be open on weekends during July and August as a first step to incorporating the building and its collections into the museum visit.