THE Bishop of Durham's whistle-stop tour of his new diocese took him to one of the region's new developments yesterday.

The Right Reverend Tom Wright stopped off at the site of the £10m Shildon Railway Village, which will become the North-East's first national museum when it opens in a year's time.

Contractors Balfour Beatty Construction are working on the curved steel frame of the vast single-storey centre, which will eventually be covered with glass and house up to 60 engines and carriages from the National Railway Museum, at York.

Bishop Wright was one of the first visitors to be shown the new structure taking shape on an old marshalling yard next to the Timothy Hackworth Museum.

He examined a wide range of other recent regeneration projects during a week-long walk around the diocese earlier this month.

He said: "The railway museum is a very exciting project. It cannot be but a good thing for the whole region.

"It is nice to see fresh developments growing, particularly where the area has been so long in economic decline."

Bishop Wright hopes to fulfil a lifelong ambition when he accepts an invitation to revisit the centre next year.

Like every small boy, he has always wanted to drive a train and museum staff have promised to make his dream come true.