Magnettes & Steam 2010
This year’s Magnettes and Steam event was at Shackerstone
station on the Battlefield line in Leicestershire. Having a geographically
central location again proved a popular choice, with 24 Magnettes attending, as
well as various other MGs. The line runs through about 5 miles of open country
between Shackerstone (the main depot) and Shenton. Although neither village is
particularly noteworthy in itself, Shenton is close to the site of the Battle of
Bosworth, which ended the War of the Roses in 1485.
After a very wet start from Surrey on Saturday morning, the weather turned out
rather better than forecast, with no rain at all during the event. The Register
regalia stand was set up at one end of the station platform, where some of the
cars were parked. Acting as a meeting point, it was conveniently placed next to
the period tea-room, and attracted considerable attention from casual visitors,
who were also interested in the unique convertible Magnette. I was interested
to talk to John Beesley about progress with his bare-shell rebuild, which sounds
like it will be the most researched and complete Magnette restoration when
finished !
The line was not running a steam engine due to boiler problems, however the
diesel-hauled service still had authentic rolling-stock for the journey of about
20 minutes. From Shenton I had a leisurely walk around the Battle of Bosworth
site, which is well provided with information boards and an extensive visitors
centre/museum. The exhibition does point out that the actual site of the battle
is still being debated and may in fact have been a couple of miles from the
marked location. Nevertheless it was a good way to spend an afternoon, and
several Magneteers were staying locally for the weekend to make the most of the
area.
Thanks as usual to Alan Slack. He’s no doubt busy working on the location for
the 2011 event, but would be quite entitled to rest on his laurels for a while
after another well-organized and enjoyable Magnettes and Steam.
Stephen Tickell
Stephen added
some more pictures...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
pictures by Malcolm Eades John Harris |
 |
|
