Work is about to start on construction of a new National Collections centre at Shildon Railway Village (SRV).

The £10m project will include a 6,000sq m building to house up to 60 vehicles from the National Railway Museum in York and will incorporate the Timothy Hackworth Museum.

The scheme, designed by Manchester-based architects Austin, Smith: Lord and to be built by Balfour Beatty, is part of a partnership venture between the National Railway Museum and Sedgefield Borough Council.

It will also include a visitor orientation area in a former Sunday school building at the entrance to the village.

Building is expected to take 12 months, with the new centre opening to the public in late 2004.

Funding for the project has come from sources including the Borough Council, the European Rural Development Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.