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East Lancashire Railway to Celebrate the Diamond Jubilee With the Biggest 1940s Wartime Weekend Ever
| Published: 29th May 2012 16:44 |
The East Lancashire Railway is celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with its biggest and most ambitious 1940s Wartime Weekend to date!
A scene from a previous Wartime Weekend,
at Ramsbottom Station
The 1940s extravaganza is returning to the railway for the 14th time this year with a packed programme of old favourites and new additions!
Held over three days from Saturday 2nd June until Monday 4th June, the event covers the full 12 mile line from Bury to Heywood and Rawtenstall. Alongside popular classics such as ENSA entertainers, live battle re-enactments, afternoon tea dances and an authentic period camp, a number of brand new features have been added to this year's line up including:
Planet Rabbit's stage hit show ‘Blitz Bride' which was nominated for Best Production at the Buxton Festival Fringe 2011; a brilliant one-act show full of nostalgia, laughs and a wartime sing song.
Bury Transport Museum will host a range of new activities including a Knitting Circle, 40s style dance lessons, a vintage and retro fair, live music, rug making and for the youngest visitors the chance to hop onboard a lend-lease steam train to meet the driver, blow the whistle and wave the flag. It's a great hands-on approach to learn about how these trains were used to ship vital goods all around the country during the war.
Dressing up at the East Lancashire Railway
1940s Wartime Weekend
A free vintage bus shuttle service on Saturday will take visitors from Rawtenstall station to Bank Street and the town centre.
However, the event does not finish with the last steam train of the day as a number of evening events, from a Boogie Night to a Jubilee Jive, are being held at various locations including the Grant Arms in Ramsbottom, Bury Town Hall and at the railway's own pub The Trackside.
Andy Morris, General Manager for the East Lancashire Railway said:
"The 1940s Wartime Weekend is a hugely popular event that now embraces the local communities around Bury, Ramsbottom, Irwell Vale and Rawtenstall and we're hopeful that this year's show will be even bigger and better than previously. We have visitors, eager to recreate the feel and the look of the period, come from all over the country for what is now acknowledged to be one of the best events of its kind in the UK."
After a year of absence, The East Lancashire Railway is also pleased to confirm an original Spitfire fly past on Saturday afternoon! These planes are widely regarded as a high point of 1940′s British engineering and played a vital role in the Battle of Britain. To see one in flight is a rare treat.
And, similar to the hugely popular Parade in 2010, Ramsbottom will once again host the big military parade with The Fusiliers Corps of Drums leading the spectacle and joined by the Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force and other Cadet units.
The East Lancashire Railway is proud to support the work of Bury Hospice and proceeds raised over the weekend will go towards their invaluable support for local people, their families and carers.
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