WORK will start on a £1.6m replica of a 1913 engineering works at Beamish museum, in County Durham, today.
The building, funded by the national lottery and museum groups, will house some of the largest artefacts of the North-East's industrial past.
The public will be able to view the machinery at the store, which will also have a work area for restoration work.
Chairman of the museum, Sunderland councillor John Mawston, said: "This is an important joint venture between some of the region's leading museums, and will enable us to continue caring for, and preserving, the great collections of the north of England."
Chairman of the Tyne and Wear Joint Museums Committee, councillor Barney Rice, said: "These objects helped to put the North-East on the world map, and are of international importance."
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