Shenton is near Bosworth Field; this is the location of the final battle of the Wars of the Roses, immortalised in Shakespeare's Richard III, giving the railway its name.

The railway runs steam and diesel-hauled trains every weekend and bank holiday from March to December.

In 1883, the Charnwood Forest Railway was opened, which extended the branch from Coalville Junction to Loughborough's Derby Road station, passing through the village of Whitwick and town of Shepshed.

In 1931, the last scheduled passenger train went down the Charnwood Forest branch, with the line then only being open to freight and excursions until the 1960s.

[citation needed] It conveyed King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria on their way to Gopsall Hall, where Handel is reputed to have composed his oratorio Messiah.

Following the successful conclusions of the negotiations with British Rail, a start was made on track rearrangements which created run-round loops at both ends of the line and a number of sidings at Shackerstone.

This involved buying 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) of track and in 1992, after a successful campaign, the inaugural service arrived, hauled by the appropriately named 0-6-0 tank engine "Richard III."

Featured was Hunslet 3855 'Glasshoughton Number 4' The first section of the journey travelling south from Shackerstone (Grid ref SK 379 065[1]) is a climbing gradient which continues until the train is clear of the station limits.