A FLOUNDERING railway has the potential to become one of the best heritage lines in the country according to rail experts.

Weardale Railway has all the right ingredients to be among the top ten railway attractions in the country, according to Robin Jones, editor of Heritage Railway.

He said: "It oozes potential and could be a wonderful line. It has marvellous scenery and lots of little villages and should be one of Britain's top ten railways.''

Mr Jones spoke as Leeds administrators Price Waterhouse Cooper continued in their quest to come up with a business plan that could save the cash-strapped railway.

Mr Jones said he felt that the Weardale Railway Company, which started to run steam trains from Stanhope to Wolsingham last summer, had been naive in its aims and effectively tried to run before it could walk.

He said: "Looking at this from a distance, it appears that these people have gone hell for leather upgrading all the buildings and stations in a short space of time, making remarkable progress.

"The traditional way to do it, looking at places such as the North Yorkshire Moors, is to start with a core of volunteers and build up things gradually, taking on full and part-time staff as you go.

"I am amazed that they employed 36 people to run a five mile railway line.''

The project ran into financial difficulties shortly before Christmas last year and was forced into administration owing almost £1m.

Mr Jones said he hoped it would be saved because it would be an ideal project to help with the regeneration of Weardale.

He used Ramsbottom, in Lancashire, as an example saying that the area was run down and an unfashionable place to live before the Lancashire Heritage line was opened.

Mr Jones said: "Shops were regenerated and people started to visit the area and now it is a fashionable place to live.

"There is no reason why this should not happen in Weardale because this is the right kind of project to regenerate the area.

"I think funding bodies should give a lot of slack to the trust chosen to reform the railway because the whole point is building an attraction that will bring in visitors.

"It brought something like 17,000 visitors in the first few months of opening and that is quite impressive. I hope it does carry on.''