Historical Journey . . .
Shackerstone Station deep in beautiful Leicestershire countryside is the northern end of the line with ample parking. As you walk to the station you pass sidings full of stored railway locomotives and carriages in various stages of restoration. Here you enter a world steeped in railway history, none more so than in the quaint station booking hall where you buy your tickets and on colder days you can enjoy the warmth of a real coal fire. For visitors who are not travelling on the train, a platform ticket (£1 per person) is required to access Shackerstone Station.

 

Adjacent to the booking hall is our museum, filled with treasures dating back from the very first time a train rolled into Shackerstone Station, it really is worth spending some time here to look at some of the fascinating artefacts inside.

Before getting on the train, why not take a short walk to the south end of the site towards our engine shed. There is a small viewing area overlooking the shed, and you never know what locomotives or other railway items you might see.

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Once the guard blows his whistle, the train leaves on its five mile journey heading for Shenton Station, running for most of the way alongside the Ashby Canal, meandering its way past small villages and farms to Market Bosworth Station. For anyone arriving here by road, there’s a large station car park next to the Goods Shed, off Station Road. Market Bosworth station is currently undergoing redevelopment to install new facilities, so please bear with us while this work is being undertaken, we hope you find it worthwhile! As your train departs for Shenton Station, look out on the right for the station’s signal box (undergoing restoration) - these structures were once a regular feature every few miles on all rail lines in the UK. 

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 re-built, brick by brick. Opposite the platform, there is a large station car park containing a building which is the last original part of Shenton Station - this now houses a pottery business.

As you walk down the platform you will find a refreshment room serving drinks, snacks, bacon rolls and much more, along with a glass blowing business, Station Glass (operated by Kayleigh Young) selling unique pieces made before your very eyes. At this point the locomotive uncouples and runs around its train. You can have a chat with the engine crew and if you’re lucky they may let you have a quick look around inside the locomotive cab.

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