A BOYHOOD love of trains is being re-kindled for a man seeking to build on a railway museum's success story.

Former council officer Gary Campbell has taken over the lead role at Locomotion: The National Railway Museum in Shildon.

The 44-year-old is the second manager at the attraction, which opened in 2005, and takes over from George Muirhead who held the role for ten-years before retiring in December.

Mr Campbell was museum manager at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, for three years before moving to the North-East.

The former culture and tourism officer for Alnwick district, Berwick borough and Northumberland county councils, he increased income by 300 per cent at the lighthouse museum.

“I was attracted by the scale of the Shildon job," he said. "I thought that if I get an interview then I’ll be pretty pleased. I’m here for the long haul and it’s a great opportunity.

“I had a boy’s interest in trains and I think there’s a national interest in them. I grew up with The Railway Children and now there’s the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express.

“The chance to work in Shildon, with its railway history and the fact that the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway is coming up in 2025, was something that I couldn’t pass up.

“I want to build on what has already been achieved for the museum, for the town and for County Durham. The potential is amazing.

“The museum already punches above its weight with what it achieves and it is already known locally, regionally and nationally.

“We pull in around 150,000 visitors a year and we’re open to absolutely anything that will help to ensure that the whole town benefits from them.”

Mr Campbell is also keen to record the testimony of the people who worked at Shildon Wagon Works before its closure in 1982, to preserve their memories for future generations.

“If it was not for the railways then Shildon would just be another former mining town.

“If we can speak to the former wagon work staff and get their stories then future generations will understand the importance of Shildon.”

This is one of several ideas which he has lined up to ensure the Shildon museum stays on track for success.