Some Early Lines Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway (Including the Battlefield Line, Shackerstone)

Some Early Lines

Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway

(Including the Battlefield Line, Shackerstone)

A Midland train behind a 2-2-2 locomotive at Market Bosworth station, close to the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field  (spellerweb.net

The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway was a pre-grouping railway company in the English Midlands. Construction began in 1869 and the railway was opened in 1873. The railway was built to serve the Leicestershire coalfield. It linked Moira and Coalville Town with Nuneaton.

Ownership

Until the 1923 grouping the railway was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway. It then became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which withdrew passenger services in 1931.Nationalisation in 1948 made the railway part of British Railways, which closed the line to freight traffic in 1971.

Midland Railway train behind 0-4-4 tank No. 2081 at Market Bosworth in around 1905   (spellerweb.net

Preservation

Part of the line between Shackerstone and Shenton has been re-opened as the Battlefield Line Railway, a heritage railway.

Shackerstone Station.

Your journey starts from this wonderful authentic example of a Victorian country station which houses a museum of rare and interesting artefacts, with a special emphasis on the area’s railway history.  Step into the quaint station booking hall where you buy your tickets and on colder days you can enjoy the warmth of a real coal fire.

While you’re waiting for the next train, visit the Victorian Tea Rooms and the ‘Fund Stall’ shop on platform 1, or the souvenir shop on platform 2.  Whilst on board why not sample the ‘on train’ buffet serving meals or snacks, with a variety of hot and cold drinks.

Once the guard blows his whistle, the train leaves on its five mile journey, running for most of the way alongside the Ashby canal, meandering its way past small villages and farms to the newly re-opened Market Bosworth Station.  This picturesque small market town, in the heart or rural Leicestershire, is a walk from the station, and hosts a range of antique shops and galleries.

The award-winning Shenton Station is the southern terminus of the line and the platform building you see once stood at Humberstone Road, Leicester, from where it was demolished and transported to Shenton and rebuilt, brick by brick.

Shenton Station, Leicestershire

Shenton Station is located in the centre of Bosworth Field, the site of the last great medieval battle in 1485,and the final battle of the War of the Roses.

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