IMAGINE if America could boast of having given birth to a development which changed the world. Wouldn't it be a jewel in its tourism crown?

Of course it would. Here in the North-East, we can make exactly that boast - we have the world's first public passenger steam-powered railway.

But is it a jewel in the region's tourism crown? Hardly.

In fact, we would argue, it has been left to degenerate into such a state that it is tantamount to neglect.

This week we have launched a campaign to put that right by trying to persuade disparate local authorities and agencies to unite and fully realise what a gem we have in our midst.

In South Tyneside, the road signs point to Catherine Cookson country. County Durham is branded The Land of The Prince Bishops. Captain Cook is celebrated on the approaches to Teesside.

But how often do you see "The Birthplace of the Railways" highlighted as you pass through or past Darlington - whether it be by road or East Coast Main Line?

Other failings are highlighted on the previous page: the grubby and inaccurate plaque commemorating the first meeting between George Stephenson and Edward Pease; the 'lost' railway bridge considered historically significant enough to be printed on the back of £5 notes; the overgrown mess which is the trail of the rail route itself.

Of course we welcome yesterday's announcement that £4.57m of Lottery money will be used to set up an offshoot of the National Railway Museum at Shildon.

We have also this week supported plans to pull a fitting celebration of the Stockton and Darlington Railway's 175th anniversary out of the ashes of the ill-fated Millennium Cavalcade of Steam.

Darlington Borough Council - not before time - has plans to upgrade its rather drab railway museum with its lack of interactivity.

All of those developments are good news. But there is so much more that could and should be done.

Speaking at an education conference yesterday, Dr John Bridge, chairman of the regional development agency, One NorthEast, talked of the way the region undervalues its tourism potential. How right he is.

We hope that in the coming months, other organisations - both public and private - will jump on board for a journey, not just into the past but into the future too.