The Darlington Building Society has launched a new savings account, which allows railway enthusiasts to earn interest while helping raise money for preserving the railway heritage of the North East of England.

The account is called the 1825 Railway Saver, and whenever a new account is opened, the building society will donate £10 to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust.

The Trust has been operating the steam locomotive 60163 Tornado on the mainline this year, but has had to stop doing so after its mainline host pulled out.

The Trust runs a Tornado Team club, which aims to inspire children aged between 5 and 15 years to develop an interest in railway history, hoping that they will become the next generation of steam enthusiasts and engineers, and that this will keep the region’s rich industrial heritage going.

The donations from the savings account will help to fund and support places in the Tornado Team club, and will also help fund the vital work that A1 Steam Locomotive does in building and operating steam engines on the main line.

The building society states that the account is suitable for people who have a lump sum to save, that they do not need immediate or fast access to. The Darlington is promoting it as a way of saving while supporting the industrial heritage of the North East of England.

The key features of the savings account are:

• a notice period of sixty days to access the money saved
• a variable rate of interest, which can go down as well as up
• support for the charity A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
• the facility for savers to top up their savings as often as they like
• a maximum deposit of £500,000
• the ability for the account holder to manage the account either online or at a branch of the Darlington Building Society.

The Building Society is urging people who are interested in opening an account to read its General Retail Savings Terms and Conditions, as well as the summary box on its website. It stresses the importance of reading all the terms before deciding to open an account. Together, these form part of the terms and conditions of this account, but if there is any conflict between the two, the terms and conditions in the summary box will apply.