A children’s story made into a captivating film in the Worth Valley and then a stage success in London is to wow audiences 3,500 miles away.

The Railway Children is to be performed in a temporary tented theatre – resembling a railway station – in Toronto, Canada, from May.

The production is based on the 1906 novel by Edith Nesbit which became successful movie, filmed on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, in 1970.

The Canadian play has been inspired by the critically-acclaimed stage version, shown at London’s redundant Eurostar station, which attracted an audience of over 165,000 people.

Before opening in the capital, the play had its stage premiere in 2008 at the National Railway Museum in York.

Robert Richardson, of Canadian producers Marquis Ent, said they had been inspired by the London production.

“We went to see it and were astonished by the way the story was presented,” he said.

The Canadian production will be staged in Toronto’s Roundhouse Park from May 3 for 26 weeks. Keighley and Worth Valley Railway spokesman Jim Shipley said: “Like the London stage version, which has boosted our visitor numbers, this is bound to increase our profile in Canada.”

Passenger numbers on the line from Keighley to Oxenhope surged by seven per cent between April and October 2010 Mr Shipley added.