WHILE Darlington proudly boasts its past as the "birthplace of the railways", less than ten miles away lies Shildon, "the cradle of the railways".

Both towns are proud of links with the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), the world's first passenger line.

Both have museums dedicated to the story.

Shildon's focus is on a £7.5m plan to establish an offshoot of the National Railway Museum (NRM) in the town, linked to the existing Timothy Hackworth Victorian and Railway Museum.

A total of £4.75m of Lottery money has been agreed in principle, with full confirmation expected this week, and Sedgefield Borough Council has just pumped another £100,000 into the scheme.

The borough is part of the Community Rail Partnership, along with Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Council and Wear Valley District Council.

The partnership is working to improve the stations along the Heritage Line, which includes the eight miles from Shildon to Darlington North Road, the only track still lying on the original S&DR route.

Darlington council announced in January last year its hopes to accomplish a £3.5m revamp of the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, but the scheme has suffered several setbacks.

Heritage manager Dr Stuart Nichols departed at the end of last year and, since then, the scheme - expected to form the centre of a World Heritage Site status bid - has hit the buffers.

Now, councillors are preparing to withdraw the scheme and replace it with something new.

In Shildon, its rail heritage schemes already have a full head of steam and £2.2m has been already spent.

A statue of Timothy Hackworth - the town's famous steam engineer - stands in the refurbished town centre, holding a model of the Royal George locomotive.

The Daniel Adamson Coach House, on Byerley Road, where horses to draw coaches on the S&DR were stabled, has also undergone a redevelopment.

So, what of Darlington? The five-year plan to redevelop the town's museum will now be reworked to focus on the main building, rather than creating a Beamish-style street.

Should the council be successful in its hopes of having a World Heritage Site centred on the town, it would be a major boost for the region.

David Mach's Brick Train sculpture, at Morton Park, has attracted considerable interest from far afield since it was unveiled in 1997.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is building the first mainline locomotive since the 1960 in a building next to the rail museum, and the North-East Locomotion Preservation Group has also just secured premises in the town.

But John Buxton, the authority's director of development, says it is unfair to assume Shildon is doing more.

While Shildon's museum is only part-time, Darlington's is full-time and the council puts £200,000 a year into its running. A further £200,000 has been committed to the project, which will focus solely on the region's rail heritage.

"As much as we would have liked the Lottery bid to have moved forward with speed, we think it is better to get it exactly right," he said.