East Lancashire Railway turns back the clock to the 1940s

Each year, Bury, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall celebrate the era at East Lancashire Railway (ELR) stations, with visitors joining in with the fun and donning costumes from that period.

Over the weekend, the steam train was running across the lines from Bury, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall.

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The theme for this year’s event was centring around the social and musical backdrop of life in Britain in the 1940s.

The Lancashire Belle at ELR (Image: Ruben Sano)

A character depicting wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill made an appearance in Bury and re-enacted some of his most famous speeches while the Lancashire Belle performed some heartfelt songs from the home front.

A highlight from the weekend is a flypast from a Lancaster war plane, which can be seen over Bury, Tottington and Ramsbottom.

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Over in Ramsbottom, Lilli Moore performed covers from icons such as Vera Lynn, Ella Fitzgerald and the Andrews Sisters.

The town also had vintage cars and vehicles on show.

ELR during the 40s weekend (Image: Ruben Sano)

Ramsbottom Civic Pride group have been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks planting and tidying up the town ready for not only the 1940s weekend but the duck race, maker’s market and car boot sale which will all be happening on Sunday.

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Group leader Heather Ryder said: “Ramsbottom civic pride were out in force this week getting ready for this fantastic bank holiday weekend of events.

“Ramsbottom will be blooming marvellous. “Ramsbottom is a beautiful town, and we can really make a difference if we all work together.”

The weather on Saturday stayed bright and sunny, however there is a yellow weather warning for Sunday for thunderstorms.

It’s hoped that it won’t dampen the spirits for the rest of the bank holiday events.