THE KEIGHLEY and Worth Valley preservation railway has celebrated a multiple anniversary by re-uniting rolling stock which arrived 50 years ago.

The steam locomotive Sir Berkeley was unrestored when it was bought by the preservation group and it saw service on the railway until it was deemed too small to cope with the demands of hauling regular passenger services on the route.

Now its regular home is the Middleton Railway in Leeds but it has been loaned back for several months to celebrate the historic moment. On Saturday it was used to haul two coaches, which also arrived at the railway 50 years ago and have made countless appearances in films and on television in the intervening years.

They exist because the Vintage Carriages Trust, which operates within the railway society, took on responsibility for their restoration. The coaches are not in use for regular service, more modern metal bodied coaches are easier to maintain for that work. Invited guests were among those on the first trip with the historic combination on Saturday.