East Lancashire ditches war themes and will celebrate eras instead

THE East Lancashire Railway has removed all war-related activity from its planned June 3-5 1940s weekend because of current crisis in Ukraine.

In doing so, the ELR, as reported last issue, is following the pattern set by other heritage lines like the Great Central Railway in cancelling or modifying planned wartime events. It will instead now focus on celebrating the 1940s and 1950s as a tribute to the occasion of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Colourful celebration

It will now be a colourful celebration of the late 1940s and early 1950s, with live music, dancing classes, vintage stalls, and cars at Ramsbottom and Bury Bolton Street stations.

Railway chairman Mike Kelly said: “The 1940s weekend at the ELR has never been a war celebration but a tribute to those who sacrificed so much on the battlefields and also on the home front.

“However, in saying that, it didn’t feel right to have reenactments or military vehicles when there is a real conflict happening so close to home.

“Our staff and volunteers want to give our local communities a unique experience to celebrate all the good that was integral to the 1940s and 1950s – the music, the fashions, the luxurious feel of old cars, and all those other nostalgic experiences we’ve heard about from our parents and grandparents.

Dress to impress

“We encourage visitors to dress up in the fashions of the 1940s and 1950s and get in the spirit of the festivities. We understand in those times, Western soldiers would often wear military uniform outside of service at celebrations, so those would be permitted as well.”

The GCR has changed its June 2-5 Wartime Weekend into a celebration of the first half century of the Queen’s life.

➜ Platform – page 95.