Action stations for forties nostalgia

The Railway in Wartime weekend, which is now in its 18th year and is one of the largest events of its kind in the country, began yesterday and is continuing today and tomorrow to give visitors an opportunity to take a step back in time to 1943.

Stations at Pickering, Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont are coming to life with re-enactments, displays and entertainment dating back to a previous era of austerity.

The general manager of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Philip Benham, said: "In many respects the men and women who worked on the railways during the war were the forgotten heroes.

"They often worked very long hours and had a great sense of discipline and duty. It was a risky occupation yet despite this, what they achieved was remarkable.

"Our event serves as a reminder of their vital role to help win the day."

Between 1939 and 1944, the railways were subjected to more than 9,000 bombing raids, although the Germans were never able to paralyse the network completely .

Among the many vital roles played by Britain's railways was the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of children from the nation's cities to the countryside and some 24,000 train movements in preparation for D-Day.