A RARE locomotive nameplate, emblazoned with the words “Darlington Hippodrome”, was yesterday handed over to the winner of a competition run by The Northern Echo.

But the question for Heather Prested as she picked up her 4ft long, 9kg prize, is where she will hang it in her home in Durham City.

“I really wanted to win because we have a sentimental connection to the theatre and we have a collection of railway art posters, but the debate now is whether it is going to go in the dining room or at an angle down the stairs,” said Heather, a part time teacher at Cheveley Park Primary School in Belmont..

The nameplate is one of only four that were made in November when a Virgin Trains engine was named “Darlington Hippodrome” to celebrate the theatre’s £12m refurbishment. Two of the nameplates are either side of engine 91126, which was unable to attend yesterday’s hand-over as it was otherwise engaged pulling trains from King’s Cross to Leeds, Newark and Skipton.

A third nameplate is in the theatre’s new atrium, and the fourth has now gone home with Heather and her husband, Nigel, an electrical engineering estimator, who was working out how many brackets would be needed to support it on their wall.

Heather said: “When I saw the competition in the Echo, I thought it would be a wonderful thing to own because it is part of history, and also because our son, Danny, was in panto at the theatre about 15 years ago.

“It was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with Linda Lusardi and Sam Kane, and Danny was one of the dwarfs.”

Lynda Winstanley, theatre director, said: “We’re delighted that the winners are so enthusiastic about having it in their home and that they share with us a passion for the theatre. We are very grateful to Virgin Trains, and The Northern Echo, for providing us with the opportunity to run this very exciting competition.”

Since the engine was named in November, it has travelled 75,000 miles on the East Coast, spreading the theatre’s name and, hopefully, bringing in audience members from far and wide.

Unusually for a nameplate, it is painted green – “Darlington Green” – which was the colour applied to locos in the town’s North Road Works.