IT WAS one of the biggest days in British history, as people throughout the country rejoiced in the victorious end to the Second World War.

Now, 60 years on, York residents are to get the chance to roll back the years and relive the VE Day celebrations.

In a month-long event at the National Railway Museum (NRM), people of all ages are being invited to travel back to May 1945, and savour the day six years of war came to an end.

Visitors will be able to rediscover the long-forgotten world of blackouts, air-raids, rationing and the Home Guard.

There will also be performances by military bands, talks and displays about the role of the railways during the war and even an opportunity to ride on the Green Arrow - billed as the "engine that won the war".

A series of plays and workshops will also show what daily life was like during the war, while an exhibition entitled Waterloo In War And Peace, based around the famous London station, will explore work by the late artist, Helen McKie.

The event, entitled 60 Years Ago - Railways In War And Peace, is one of the biggest the museum has held. It begins on Saturday with a demonstration by the Yorkshire Women's Institute on the difficulties of wartime life, and will culminate in a 1940s-themed dinner dance on May 7, followed by a giant street party in the museum on May 8.

The event was officially launched at the NRM yesterday, with a reconstruction by local actresses of a 1944 wedding. Margaret Marsden starred as Annie, as she was transformed from a land girl to a blushing wartime bride.

Programmes manager, Paul Bisson, said: "The NRM will be giving all the family a chance to discover the enormous part that locomotives and the railways played during the Second World War.

"The month-long event will feature plenty of activities which capture the spirit of the times, and we hope that not only will younger generations be able to discover what it was like under wartime conditions, but our older visitors will see their experiences and memories brought back to life."

One of the event's star attractions will be the Green Arrow, which holds the record for Britain's longest passenger train. The V2-class locomotive pulled 24 coaches on a single trip, and became known as "the engine that won the war" because of the role it played in transporting troops and supplies around the country. Rides will be available on May 7 and May 8, with rides on another wartime locomotive, the Eustace Forth, available from April 30 to May 2.

Everything in the event will be free, except the dinner dance, for which tickets cost £40. To book, phone 01904 685795.

Updated: 10:19 Thursday, April 07, 2005