Steam train enthusiasts from all over the country will converge on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

The heritage line, which was taken over by the preservation society on June 29 1968, was the first in the country to be bought by volunteers after massive cuts by British Rail in the early 1960s.

The two days of celebrations - on Saturday and Sunday September 19 and 20 - see some of the engines and carriages back in the combinations in which they were used in the early pioneering days of the private steam line.

A high point in the railway's history was its use as the location for British film classic The Railway Children.

Visitors will be able to ride in carriages pulled by the tank engine which featured in the in film made in 1970.

Railway society chairman Graham Mitchell said: "We are very proud that throughout all these years we have maintained our role as a community railway.

"We have 2,500 people who hold our railway pass, which allows cheap fares, and we are unique in being the only heritage railway in the country that has kept a service going for the public every Saturday and Sunday for 30 years.''

"We buy as much as we can locally such nails, paint, food, engine parts and printing services,'' Mr Mitchell added.

The weekend includes a vintage transport rally at Ingrow West station, brass band performances, a 30th anniversary display and the launch of a commemorative book, to be signed at Oxenhope on Saturday.

Visitors who want to experience the earliest days of steam days, may ride combination Pug engine and Chatham brake coaches which were used for short rides in Haworth yard during the three years before the official opening in June 1968.

The railway preservation society was formed in 1961 by the late Keighley MP Bob Cryer and President Ralph Povey.

The society paid £40,000 for the five mile line between Keighley and Oxenhope on a mortgage over 25 years.

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