THE Mid Hants Railway invited people to step back in time last week for the Watercress Line’s annual Christmas Leave event.

Held on Boxing Day and December 27, the days saw civilian and military re-enactors bring the atmosphere of Second World War Christmas to the railway.

With wartime music, steam and “seasonal merriment”, the event once again proved a resounding success for the charity.

Organisers said the days were a “fabulous” way to bring the community together.

“Thank you to those who joined us for our 1940s event,” a Mid-Hants Railway spokesman added. “Missed it? War On The Line is back in June.”

Visitors were able to hop on and off at all four stations along the line, where they enjoyed 40s entertainment, wartime games, refreshments, photographic exhibits and much more.

“What a fantastic day,” Richard Myers wrote on Facebook. “We’ll definitely be back in June.”

The Mid Hants Railway, nicknamed The Watercress Line in the early 20th Century for its role in transporting the crop to London, is Hampshire’s only standard-gauge heritage railway.