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Swindon Steam Museum 22 July 2017

A total of 8 Z Magnettes assembled at the Swindon Steam Museum on Saturday morning, as well as John and Marion Gill from South Wales who are in the process of acquiring a Magnette. Wiltshire owner Mac Pile was strategicallly placed to guide us into the museum entrance and the reserved parking which had been arranged right outside. The building is part of the original Great Western works, which once employed over 10,000 people producing locomotives and rolling stock. It now features fascinating reconstructions of the various workshops, together with several steam engines and displays about the history of the GWR.

 In the afternoon the Register AGM was held in one of the museum meeting rooms. This was a fairly brief affair as usual, but included the election of a ‘new’ chairman, Paul Batho, as David Halliday has served the maximum six years allowed. David thanked the committee and reflected on his term as chairman, during which sadly we had lost several notable Magnetteers - most recently Trevor Jones. Paul Batho of course needs no introduction, having been chairman from 2006-2012, and continued as committee member since then.

We were very pleased to have our President Celia Palmer with us for the day, thanks to Paul who provided transport (Celia still lives in the house near Oxford designed by her father Gerald Palmer).

After finishing at the museum there was just time for some to visit the nearby retail outlets, before heading to a nearby pub for dinner and further relaxed conversation. Special thanks are due to Mac for stepping in after Trevor passed away, to organize dinner and make sure the day ran smoothly.  

Text and photos by Stephen Tickell

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