EXCITING new plans to turn the railway town of Shildon into a national tourist attraction were yesterday given their biggest boost yet.

The Heritage Lottery Fund confirmed a £4.9m grant for a £7.7m rail museum, which could bring massive economic benefits to the town and the whole region when it opens in two years' time.

Up to 50,000 visitors a year are expected to flock to the new centre, which will be the first-ever offshoot of the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.

The spin-off benefits will be enormous for businesses in Shildon which have struggled to recover from the closure of its British Rail wagon works in 1984.

When it opens it will create eight jobs as well as student work experience placements, while it will tap into the skills of former BR craftsmen.

The new Collections Centre will be built by the National Museum of Science and Industry and managed by Sedgefield Borough Council. It will house 60 engines and carriages ranging from coal trucks to five royal carriages in a huge glass building on an overgrown former marshalling yard next to the existing Timothy Hackworth Museum.

They include an example of the first tilting train, the APTE, and are from the NRM's reserve collection currently stored in sheds and warehouses around the country.

Visitors could arrive by special train from Darlington along the route of the world's first passenger railway and there are plans to link with other rail projects to create a groundbreaking tourism network.

An outline planning application for the 6,000 sq metre building is being submitted within weeks and work could start later this year.

A £350,000 grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and £219,000 from the Shildon Single Regeneration Budget programme were announced at the end of last year.

The lottery grant opens the way for bids for more funding from sources including One North-East and the European Regional Development Fund.

Borough Council leader and SRB chairman Coun Brian Stephens said: "This is great news not only for the people of Shildon but for Sedgefield Borough and the region.

"The town of Shildon is synonymous with the railway industry and I hope many people will come to visit the museum when it opens."

Andrew Scott, head of the NRM, said: "The HLF's generous grant gives us most of the funding we need, but we remain heavily reliant on continued support within the region to make sure that this important new venture succeeds."