BURY will be swingin' and jumpin' this Bank Holiday Weekend when the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) recreates the flavour of the 1940s.

Their popular annual Wartime Weekend is being staged, embracing numerous events to be held in Bury, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall.

Bolton Street station will be crowded with people dressed in authentic period military uniforms and civilians sporting fashions of the day.

They will travel from all over the country to attend the event to be held tomorrow, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. The Wartime Weekend offers a bumper programme of attractions to capture the imagination of all the family, but in particular the older generation.

Throughout the weekend, there are a number of scenarios taking place, including a mock 1940s wedding, battle re-enactments and a wartime troop train which includes in its formation freight wagons loaded with Second World War tanks.

The event will also include two highlights. One is a visit tomorrow by 100 American veterans from the Burtonwood Association which has its roots in the former air base at Warrington.

And on Monday, the Wartime Weekend will climax with a military parade comprising members of the Royal British Legion, various veterans' associations, re-enactors and Second World War vehicles.

In a change to the original schedule, the parade will form at Bolton Street station and walk to the nearby platform.

Timetable of events for Bury and Ramsbottom:

Saturday: 10.15am: Bolton Street station: visit by American veterans; daytime Ensa shows at Bolton Street station; 1940s military and civilian stalls at Castlecroft goods yard opposite Bolton Street station; stalls, stands and displays in and around Bolton Street station; 7.30pm: Blitz Ball and '40s dance in the Elizabethan Suite, Bury.

Sunday: Military vehicle display at Ramsbottom; civilians at war utility/ration rummage sale at Bolton Street station; 12.45pm: 1940s wedding re-enactment in the remembrance garden, Bridge Street, Ramsbottom, followed by swing and dance at the Civic Hall, Ramsbottom; 1pm: Workers' Playtime concert at Bolton Street station; 2.30pm: Operation Overlord battle spectacular at Falaise Sidings, Ramsbottom; 7.30pm: Jitterbug Jive Night in Ramsbottom Civic Hall.

Monday: Military arms fair in the Castle Armoury (Drill Hall), Bury; Civilians at War rummage sale at Bolton Street station; 11am-2.30pm: In the Mood to Stroll: swing and jump jive music at Bolton Street station; 2.45pm: massed military parade forms outside Bolton Street station, leaving at 2.55pm to march to platform; event finale: lowering of flags and Guard of Honour at Bolton Street station.