SWINDON'S Steam Museum did not win the final of the National Railway Heritage Awards but it was praised by judges.

It was one of five organisations to reach the finals of the Modern Railways category of the awards, presented at Merchant Tailor's Hall in Threadneedle Street, London, yesterday.

The winner was a station restoration project in Nottingham.

Steam spokeswoman Emma Valentine said: "We are disappointed we have not won but judges praised the entry and our museum and we're very pleased we got recognised."

Winning the award would have helped raise the museum's profile and end its image as the poor relation compared to the booming Great Western Designer Outlet Village next door.

Amid ongoing financial problems, however, Steam made it to the finals for the work that has transformed the once-derelict machine and turning shop, which was part of Swindon Railway Works, into a visitor attraction.

It was also judged on the quality of its displays, which celebrate the story of the people who built the Great Western Railway.

Judging was carried out throughout the summer by a panel of adjudicators from the Heritage Railway Association, who saw sites across the UK and Ireland.

To reach the finals, entrants had to satisfy the judges that the work they had carried out was of a high standard of workmanship and sympathetic to the era of the original buildings.

Steam curator Tim Bryan said: "The shortlisting follows other accolades for Steam such as the Civic Trust Award, Good Britain Guide's Wiltshire Family Attraction of the Year and the English Tourism Council Quality Assured Visitor Attraction."

The Railway Heritage Awards 2001 are sponsored by Ian Allen Publishing, Railtrack, London Underground, Railway Heritage Trust, Westinghouse Signals, Atoc and Modern Railways Magazine.

Steam was made possible through a funding partnership bringing together the Heritage Lottery Fund, Swindon Council, Carillion Development Management and BAA McArthurGlen.

It opened to the public in the summer of 2000. The project began nearly six years earlier, with the most magnificent milestone coming in 1997, when the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant of almost £8m.

Restoration began in January 1999 to renovate the listed railway building, part of which dates back to 1846.