A SPECIAL cinema event is to be held to celebrate the 2000 Railway Heritage Festival.

Railway enthusiasts are invited to the Tyneside Cinema which is screening film clips of some classic steam trains on Thursday, August 17 at 5.45pm

The classic 1936 film Night Mail, one of the most famous of railway films ever made, tops the bill.

Directed by Basil Wright and Harry Watt, Night Mail's magic is conjured by evocative images, music from Benjamin Britten and WH Auden's nostalgic-laden poem.

Elizabethan Express, made in 1954 by the famous British Transport Films Unit, captures all the glamour and excitement of steam of what was then the longest, non-stop run in the world, going from King's Cross to Edinburgh in just 6hrs 30miris.

From 1953 is the film This Is York, about historical and industrial York, its surrounding countryside and most of ail the life and work of its glorious railway station from dawn till dusk.

The programme also includes Emergency, a 1962 film showing how a major railway accident would be dealt with.

For more information call Kate Duncan on 0191-2619873 or Mike Kirkup, Tyneside Cinema, on 0191-2328289, ext 102.