RECORD numbers of visitors to the National Railway Museum in York have been fending off the winter chill by taking a trip through time to sunnier climes.

The museum, which attracted just short of 28,500 visitors last month - the highest figure for that period for 14 years - has been taking visitors back to the glory days of summers by the British seaside with its spectacular Speed To The West exhibition, which is running alongside its regular attractions.

Original posters from the golden age of steam travel have been teamed up with photographs and archive material from the National Collection to take people on a journey of discovery to the west of England.

The posters, which were produced by the Great Western Railway in response to the decline of industrial rail traffic, made up what is now regarded as one of the most innovative publicity campaigns of the 20th Century.

The move created the English Riviera and the age of the leisure industry was born. Artistry and creativity were unleashed, inspired by a coastline steeped in history, the glamour of Cornish legends and beautiful landscapes.

The route of the Cornish Riviera Express, as the service became known, ran from Paddington to Penzance and inspired writers such as Sir John Betjeman and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Christine Lukies, the museum's head of marketing, said visitors, particularly families, had been flocking to the museum during December and many had enjoyed the exhibition, which runs until March 10.

She said: "The exhibition takes people on a really exciting journey through all the different towns holidaymakers would pass through on the route right down to the bottom of Cornwall.

"While we can't differentiate between what has brought visitors to see us, there has definitely been a good response to this exhibition."

Updated: 11:38 Saturday, January 05, 2002