It's full steam ahead... thanks to Thomas the Tank enthusiast and friends

At 300 years old, Tanfield in the North East is the world's oldest railway. Now, a new BBC documentary has followed the young volunteers committed to keeping its vintage locomotives alive

- By Karen Rockett

ALL aboard for a trip back in time on the world's oldest railway, celebrating its 300th anniversary in a quiet and beautiful corner of North East England. Dating back to 1725, a whole century before the famous Stockton and Darlington Railway, Tanfield in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham - has an unrivalled history.

Now, thanks to its small army of train-mad volunteers, visitors to Tanfield Railway can ride the rails once again through six miles of stunning countryside.

This weekend, it is holding a 300th anniversary party open to the public with steam train rides and guided tours including Causey Arch, the oldest single span railway bridge in the world built between 1725 and 1727. There will also be colliery brass bands and miners' flag processions.

The coal connection is important this was no passenger line. The Tanfield line was originally built to transport coal from collieries in the area to the River Tyne for shipment to London and beyond using the latest technology and groundbreaking engineering of the day.

That involved wooden wagons on wooden rails pulled by horses, a hundred years before iron rails and steam.

Today the railway, rebuilt by its dedicated volunteers, is a showcase for the area's rich railway heritage. What so easily could have been a forgotten relic has instead become a thriving monument to the region's industrial past and a showcase of the industrial impact that the North East once had on the world.

A new BBC documentary made by award-winning Chalk Productions explores the railway's history and talks to its young and not so young volunteers about their steam train obsessions.

It reveals how Tanfield Railway is more than just a relic of the past it's a labour of love. Every clanking carriage, every polished locomotive and every stretch of gleaming track is a testament to the dedication of its volunteers.