Magnettes & Steam 2009

This year's event at the Severn Valley railway in Shropshire was quite a contrast from 2008, although both were equally memorable and of course efficiently organized by Alan Slack. Last year in Derbyshire we shivered in near-zero temperatures and much time was spent in the station buffet. At the SVR we enjoyed warm spring sunshine, and in fact my Register sweatshirt proved rather too warm for comfort ! Peter Martin got a nice sun-tan whilst manning the regalia stand (new T-shirts hot off the press), and the unique 'convertible' Magnette was enjoying a hood-down day. It's now sporting white-wall tyres since I last saw it 3 or 4 years ago, and still got plenty of attention.

No doubt the weather contributed to an impressive turnout of around 30 Magnettes, with a couple of interesting Wolseleys and some other MGs also in attendance. I made a special effort to set out early for the 3-hour drive from Surrey, but even so found about 20 cars had reached Highley station before me, with Alan and Lynne hard at work welcoming new arrivals. The special parking arranged outside the visitor centre was already full, however there was sufficient extra space alongside the track.

The SVR is probably one of the longer preserved railways that Magnettes+Steam has visited. The old Great Western (then BR) line has been gradually restored since the 1970s to now cover 16 miles between the towns of Kidderminster and Bridgenorth. A complete round trip would take a couple of hours, so I opted instead for a return journey to Bridgenorth, with a bit of time there to walk round the picturesque castle gardens. Back at Highley, the recently opened Engine House museum was also well worth investigating. I think most people spent the day in a similar way, leaving plenty of time to chat and look at each others' cars.

All in all, a very good day - an opportunity to explore part of the country I don't often visit, and an excellent way to catch up with the Register committee, other regulars, and some new owners as well.

Text & pictures
Stephen Tickell