VISITORS to two sister museums that are 60 miles apart will be linked by rail for the first time this weekend.
Steam locomotives will run between the National Railway Museum, in York, and Locomotion: The National Railway Museum, in Shildon, County Durham, tomorrow and Sunday.
It will be the first time passengers have travelled directly from the museum in York to the facility in Shildon – previous services have departed from York railway station.
A platform has been constructed at the York site for the event.
The Olton Hall – better known as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films – and Princess Elizabeth, which was named after the Queen, will be the steam locomotives operating the services.
The first service is due to arrive into Shildon at 11.30am tomorrow, followed by another one in the afternoon and another two on Sunday.
The services will also be operating next weekend during Locomotion’s annual steam gala.
George Muirhead, manager of Locomotion, said: “There will be a steam locomotive on each end of the train – one pulls it up and the other pulls it back.
“We are really excited because the Hogwarts Express is an old friend, it has been here before, and it is the first visit for Princess Elizabeth.
“Everybody’s been working so hard on this over the past few weeks.”
Helen Ashby, head of knowledge and collections at the National Railway Museum, said: “The cross-site venture provides a rare opportunity for members of the public to ride on an operational steam locomotive and take advantage of two museums dedicated to railways at either end of the line.
“It seems only fitting that such iconic names in steam take centre stage at this milestone event in the history of the two museums.”
Tickets are still available for the services, which will also be calling at North Road, in Darlington, and Northallerton station.
Prices vary from £30 to £15 for adults and £10 to £5 for children, depending on the route.
Due to carriages being heritage stock, passengers can only use cash onboard the trains.
For information, call the museum, in Shildon, on 01388-777999 or visit nrm.org.uk/shuttle
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