A NEW railway carriage shed has been given the royal seal of approval at Kidderminster.

The Duke of Gloucester visited the Severn Valley Railway to officially open the new single-storey building.

The shed stretches for a fifth of a mile and was constructed with the help of a £1.75m award from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"It went extremely well," said John Leach, marketing manager for Severn Valley Railway.

"The Duke is patron of Severn Valley Railway. He went for a ride to Bewdley and even drove the locomotive Union of South Africa."

Earlier, the Duke, who is a railway enthusiast, unveiled a plaque to mark the new building and met some of the volunteers who help run the SVR operation.

The new shed, completed earlier this year, can hold up to 60 historic railway coaches, protecting them from the ravages of the weather and aiding their long-term conservation.