THE clocks were turned back 60 years to the 1950s when a steam shunting engine paid a nostalgic visit to the town’s docks for what is almost certainly the last time.

Hornpipe is an 84-year-old Peckett shunter that will be the star attraction at this weekend’s first ever steam gala at the Mid Suffolk Light Railway at Brockford.

It spent a few hours in Ipswich on its way from its home at Windsor to the Middy.

Hornpipe is the main attraction at the gala which should see three locomotives in steam. It has recently been restored to working order after a near-total rebuild.

The visit gave the Ipswich Transport Museum the opportunity to set up an exhibition showing off the history of the dock railway.

The last train around the wet dock ran 20 years ago and the link with the rest of the rail network was severed about eight years ago.

The only rail link to Ipswich port is now the West Bank link which carries containers to and from the docks several times a week.