HARRY Potter fans were given a taste of steam train travel in the style of their hero's journeys to Hogwarts at the weekend.

Darlington Railway Museum was offering rides on the Peckett Engine - a fully working steam locomotive.

The steam train rides have proved popular with visitors to the North Road museum, which is hoping to attract thousands more people by securing a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

Curator John Wilkes said: "Many of the youngsters who come here have never seen a steam engine working.

"And for the older visitors it takes them back to a time when travelling by steam train was the norm."