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Created on Saturday, 07 April 2007 15:35

Magnettes and Steam 2007

Always a popular event, this year's 'Magnettes and Steam' was held on Easter Saturday (7 April 2007) at Winchcombe station on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire steam railway. As well as organising the venue with their usual efficiency, Alan Slack and the Register committee had even arranged perfect Spring weather. Starting out from Surrey, I stopped at High Wycombe to meet up with John and Liz Barringer in their ZA. We drove in convoy enjoying the views of rolling countryside and Cotswold-stone villages in glorious sunshine, making even the A40 quite picturesque once we cleared the Oxford ring road. John and Liz decided to leave the navigation to me, which resulted in taking perhaps slightly more winding country lanes than absolutely necessary, but anyway we arrived safely.

Although I'd been through Winchcombe a couple of times before on holiday, I didn't actually realise there was a steam railway there. In fact Toddington at the northern end of the line is the main station and headquarters, and Winchcombe station is only identified by a small sign on the roadside, so could be easily missed. Nevertheless it has a large station yard, and a generous area next to the ticket office had been reserved for our use. It was only just big enough, as apart from the near-record turnout of 28 Magnettes there were several other interesting MGs and other cars. We had examples of most post-war and immediate pre-war MGs, but I was particularly impressed by the Riley Pathfinder - another of Gerald Palmer's creations. Seen close up it's bigger and more luxurious than I had realised. Jose's rally car is also as outstanding as it looks in his pictures, although it almost seems a pity that such a beatifully painted and finished Magnette is going to be subjected to the effects of a long rough journey... Notably I only saw one ZB Magnette, with ZAs and Varitones about equal in numbers. I'm not sure if this is representative of the surviving numbers, or do ZB owners not go to events so much ?

The day followed the established format of informal chats, renewing acquaintances and exploring the railway (but with the added novelty of trying to avoid sun-burn). Alan was on hand to welcome new arrivals as well as manning the Register stall with Peter Martin and David Johnson. The railway was running regular steam services in both directions, so I opted for the 20-mile round-trip up to Toddington then down to Cheltenham racecourse and back. The main attraction of the route is the Cotswolds scenery, but it also passes through a tunnel which is the second-longest on a preserved railway.

After his notable successes with recent locations for this annual event, one might wonder if Alan will have a problem in following it next year, but I suspect he has some more ideas up his sleeve...Thanks again to all concerned for a most enjoyable day.