IT IS still going to be a great weekend of steam in the North-East.

Even though the Cavalcade of Steam, planned to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, collapsed in financial ruins, the region is awash with foreign visitors as museums try to make up for the disappointment.

All attractions with a steam connection reported that they were very busy yesterday, with tourists from Belgium, Holland and Germany swelling the British visitors who have come on coaches from Cornwall, Manchester and Scotland.

"We are up to capacity for group bookings for all our services all over the weekend, and a lot of them are international visitors," said Jane Lethbridge, at the North York Moors Railway, at Pickering.

"But we'll still be welcoming anyone else who wants to come."

Alan Pearce, at the Timothy Hackworth Museum in Shildon, County Durham, said: "Our weekend of events has been put together by local people who were so disappointed at the collapse of the cavalcade that they held a meeting in the civic hall to see what they could do.

"It's been a tremendous effort."

These are some of the places holding events over the bank holiday:

Beamish

AT THE open-air museum near Stanley, County Durham, the replica of Locomotion No 1 - the engine which hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway - will be giving rides to visitors on the Pockerley line.

Beside it on static display will be a replica of Walter Hancock's Enterprise, an 1833 steam road carriage, making only its second public appearance.

Also at Beamish is a static replica of the first steam-powered road vehicle built by Richard Trevithick, in 1803.

TANFIELD

THE railway near Stanley is opening specially this afternoon to cater for the influx of visitors. It will also be open tomorrow and Monday.

At East Tanfield there is an exhibition of pictures celebrating the line's 275th anniversary, which also falls this year.

Two of the line's engines will be in steam but the biggest attraction is a North-Eastern Railway Y7 engine on loan from Leeds.

This is recreating the old Seahouses railway which closed in 1958, and the sight of a Y7 is already attracting visitors from abroad. The wheel lathe from the old Consett steelworks will also be working as will other stationary engines.

BISHOP AUCKLAND

AT THE Discovery Centre in the Market Place, volunteers are staging an exhibition to celebrate the Stockton and Darlington Railway's anniversary.

It contains photographs and memorabilia recalling Weardale's railway past and is well worth a visit.

It is open today, 11am to 4pm, and next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

SHILDON

TODAY at the Timothy Hackworth Museum, Merlin, a 1939 Peckett saddle tank loco which is exactly the same as Percy the Tank Engine from the Reverend Wilber Awdry's stories, will be in steam and giving rides.

A replica of Sanspareil, Hackworth's famous 1829 loco, will also be working.

Both engines will be on duty tomorrow and Monday as the centrepiece of a fete.

There will be stocks in which Shildon dignitaries have agreed to place themselves to be pelted with sponges.

There will be at least 60 vintage and classic vehicles on display and a mini traction engine running around the museum.

DARLINGTON

THE 1953 Peckett engine will be in steam and giving rides at the North Road Railway Centre over all three days.

The Railway Preservation Society is opening its sheds for public inspection, as is the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust (not Monday).

St John's Church, the original railwayman's church with a foundation stone laid by George "Railway King" Hudson, is open today, 2pm to 4pm, with an exhibition of railway memorabilia.

NORTH YORK MOORS

A GOLD timetable is running all holiday on the moors railway between Pickering and Grosmont.

Music on the Moors is the special feature being held at Levisham station where brass bands will play.

l On the anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway - September 27 - Stockton is holding a Full Day of Steam, and a three-day festival is shaping up nicely in Darlington for September 29-October 1