New heritage tours developed by the Learning Team at Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon, will give visitors to the museum a new enhanced experience, reinterpreting the historic buildings at the western end of the museum site.

The Cradle of the Railways free tours are now available daily.

Gary Campbell, Museum Manager said, “There is a lot more to the heritage buildings than appears at first glance.

“There are a lot of interesting stories linked to the life of the buildings and by introducing a member of the museum team to act as a guide, we hope that visitors will get a lot more from their time at this part of the site.

“By working with the buildings in this way our visitors will have a more enjoyable experience.

“There will be the opportunity to see a lot more and find out a lot more about Shildon’s railway heritage.

“The tours will bring together various points of interest at Locomotion that can be easily missed.”

The tours will last an hour (covering less than a mile) and incorporate buildings and structures associated with the Stockton and Darlington Railway including the historic coal drops; the Stockton and Darlington Railway stables on the Black Boy Colliery branch; the 1857 goods shed and parcel office; Soho Shed; Hackworth House and a visit to see the original Sans Pareil locomotive, built by Timothy Hackworth in 1829 to compete in the Rainhill Trials.

Access to these buildings will only be available during the heritage tours.

The tours will be available daily on weekdays at 10.30am and 1.30pm and at weekends (when there is no steam train in operation) at 10.30am, 1.30pm and 3pm.

On steaming days, visitors can catch the train at the Collections building 15 minutes before the start of tours, which begin at the heritage station at the Goods Shed at 10.30am, 11.30am, 2pm and 3pm.