PLANS for the world's most famous steam trains to run together for one last time in the North-East were dramatically scrapped last night.

Tens of thousands of visitors were expected to descend on the home of the railways for a spectacular Millennium Cavalcade of Steam in seven weeks' time.

Hotels and restaurants were gearing up for millions of pounds to be spent by visitors.

But last night the organisers pulled the plug, saying a major investor's decision to withdraw its offer of a £150,000 investment had killed the project.

David Champion, chairman of the organiser, Rail 2000, said: "It is a bitter blow so close to the event. If this had happened eight weeks ago, it wouldn't have been a problem."

But Mr Champion said there was simply not enough time to find other cash to pay for a final advertising campaign and other last-minute arrangements.

"Everybody has been working flat out over the last ten days and we were getting good signals up until this morning," he added.

The Cavalcade of Steam was intended to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the opening of the Darlington to Stockton railway, the world's first passenger line.

Descendants of the railway pioneers, such as George Stephenson and Timothy Hackworth, were among enthusiasts from around the world who were planning to visit the celebrations, centred in Darlington and Shildon.

The August Bank Holiday weekend was expected to see up to 240,000 people visit the four cavalcade sites, in Darlington, Shildon, Newton Aycliffe and Whessoe.

The cavalcade, which had been supported by The Northern Echo, would have covered an eight-mile stretch of the original Stockton and Darlington Railway site, between Shildon and Darlington, which opened in 1825.

Experts believe it would have been the last time many of the great steam engines would have been fit to travel, due to their increasing age.

But negotiators set a 5pm deadline yesterday to save the cavalcade. As that passed, Don Heath, the Virgin executive who last week was put in place to run the operation, announced that three years of planning had come to nothing.

Rail 2000, train operator Virgin and Railtrack, and representatives of Darlington and Sedgefield borough councils, had struggled for ten days to find a new investor.

It is not known why the unnamed benefactor, which organisers said had promised the money in writing, withdrew its support.

However, it is understood that less than 20,000 tickets had been sold, and a threshold of 160,000 had been set for the event to break even.

Mr Heath said: "The sum involved was significant and it's just impossible to fund the remaining work that have to be done before the cavalcade would take place."

Councillor John Williams, leader of Darlington council and deputy chairman of ONE NorthEast, said the feeling was one of "bitter disappointment".

"Everybody was hopeful we were going to have a really impressive anniversary cavalcade to celebrate the historic occasion and that's not going to happen," he said.

"It's obviously a missed opportunity for businesses in the region."

Councillor Brian Stephens, the Shildon-born and bred leader of Sedgefield council, said: "It's a big blow to the town, everybody was up for it."

He said Sedgefield Borough Council, like Darlington, would be looking at other ways of celebrating the anniversary.

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