Several trains have been restored for the Weardale line

The line was built in 1847 as an extension to the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The first five-mile stretch of track is due to open to the public on 17 July.

As part of preparations for the opening, a steam engine is carrying invited passengers between Stanhope and Wolsingham on Wednesday.

The Weardale Railway Trust is confident everything will be ready for the weekend, although paving and tarmac work is not yet finished on the three new stations.

From Sunday, the railway will run a summer service along the Dale, four trains daily each way, until the end of October.

Extra visitors

Steve Raine, chairman of the Weardale Railway Trust, said on Wednesday ahead of the opening: "We set this deadline in October last year, we are going to make it.

"We hope the railway fits in with all the other attractions in the Dale and also creates a way of getting from A to B. We also hope we can bring extra visitors in without increasing the traffic."

It is the first stage of a five-year plan that will see an 18-mile heritage line running to Bishop Auckland, carrying 90,000 passengers a year.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has given the project �900,000.

The �5m scheme has already received backing from the European Regional Development Fund to bring back to life the once busy rural route.