This was the first time we had attended the Rally. We had been persuaded to go by our relatives who had been several times before and were not disappointed.
The weather was glorious with hardly a cloud in the sky and plenty to see and do for all ages. The event is very well organised and the exhibitors are friendly. All in all a fun day out for the whole family.
The rally has been run since 1979 by the Friends of Wrotham Recreation Ground originally to help provide funds for sporting facilities in the village but this has now been expanded to include other organisations such as the village hall and the local school.
There were approximately a dozen different steam traction engines on display including these fine examples -
"Queen Jubilee" is an 8 ton steam roller built by Aveling & Porter in 1924.
Aveling & Porter had a factory in Strood near the Rochester Bridge and built more steam rollers than all the other manufacturers combined.
Aveling & Porter ceased trading in 1932 but in 1933 the remnants of the company merged with Barford & Perkins to become Aveling-Barford which still trades today and manufactures dumper trucks.
The engine shown above was built by John Fowler & Co in Leeds in 1917. Fowlers was founded in 1863 and operated until 1946 when they were taken over by Thomas Ward Ltd.
Another steam roller. The "Phoebe" was built in 1930 by a company called Wallis & Steevens who were based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Wallis & Steevens started trading in the 1840's but became a victim of the last recession and ceased trading in 1981.There were over one hundred vintage tractors on display. The oldest dating back to 1910. Here are a few pictures to give an idea of the wide variety of designs and manufacturers....
Apart from the steam engines and tractors, there were vintage cars and motor bikes as well as commercial vehicles such as this 1953 Dennis fire engine (note the bells rather than blue lights!)
My little boy and his cousin had a whale of a time and I would definitely recommend a visit to the show when it comes round again next year.
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Nice Dennis F8.
ReplyDeleteI have loved firetrucks and dreamed of being a fireman. I admire how the owners were able to restore it. How I wish that I was able to see the Dennis firetruck in person. Now I'm working as a mechanic and I have been dealing with steam engines. I still admire the vintage ones. Now that there are a lot of engine improvement such as the macon controls and mepco traps, I admire how the vintage autos are working the way the new ones does.
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