A RAIL town's dream of winning back its place in the history of steam was yesterday given formal backing by the National Lottery.

The great news comes in the week The Northern Echo has launched a campaign to properly celebrate the North-East's railway heritage.

Yesterday, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announced initial support for a £4.57m bid from Shildon to set up an off-shoot of York's National Railway Museum (NRM), housing up to 70 of its vehicles.

The new 6,000 square metre centre would be built next to the famed Timothy Hackworth Museum and could attract up to 40,000 visitors a year - bringing spin-off benefits to Shildon and region's whole tourist industry.

It is this week's second major announcement to help make up for the disappointment felt by thousands of rail fans following the collapse of next month's planned Millennium Cavalcade of Steam. Yesterday, The Northern Echo revealed that it is helping to organise a three-day festival at the end of September to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

It is part of The Northern Echo's newly-launched campaign to highlight the need for the region to capitalise on its unique railway heritage.

Meanwhile, the Heritage Lottery Fund wants to see detailed plans before giving the Shildon project its final blessing in time for a start date in 2002.

The rest of the £6.1m cost would come from Sedgefield Borough Council, which has earmarked £600,000 over two years, Single Regeneration Budget funding of £200,000 and potential grants from European coffers.

Councillor Brian Stephens, leader of Sedgefield Borough Council who submitted the bid with the NRM, said: "This is great news for the people of Shildon and the North-East. If the project wins final approval, it will put the area firmly on the tourist map."

NRM head Andrew Scott added: "We now need to get down to the serious job of making the dream a reality."

Last night, North-East MPs, led by Bishop Auckland's Derek Foster, tabled a Commons' motion backing The Northern Echo's campaign.

The motion, also signed by Stockton North MP Frank Cook and Stockton South's MP Dari Taylor, hailed the Stockton and Darlington railway as "the world's first steam-powered passenger railway".

The MPs, including Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland's Ashok Kumar, also noted the line's "crucial role in Great Britain's industrial revolution" that should be "fully acknowledged and celebrated for decades to come".