FIFTEENTH anniversary celebrations were in full steam for a national railway museum at the weekend.

Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon, marked the milestone with a showcase of steam power, from Saturday to Monday.

A free event, it drew a large number of visitors, both steam enthusiasts and family groups, to the Dale Road Industrial Estate.

Museum-goers were able to take a passenger steam ride on a carriage hauled by guest locomotive Agecroft, built in 1948 by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn to shunt wagons at a Manchester power station.

There was also a display of road steam engines, including Marshall traction engines, an Armstrong Whitworth engine and a steam roller.

There was also interactive street theatre from The Memory Collectors, information stands, family learning activities and access to cabs of selected locomotives.