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Smallwood Vintage Rally in Cheshire
Engine number 5814 built by Fodens of Sandbach Cheshire, more examples to follow at the end of the blog.
This rally is held in the small Cheshire village of Smallwood which is near to the birthplace of Edwin Foden famous for being the originator of Foden Trucks and it’s subsequent family spin off ERF Trucks, both were located in the nearby town of Sandbach. The original Foden company produced massive industrial steam engines, as well as small stationary engines and from 1880 agricultural traction engines. The company first produced experimental steam lorries shortly after the turn of the 20th century and went on to manufacture a range of trucks that spanned several decades and these were a common feature to be seen on British roads. The last truck to carry the Foden name was produced in July 2006, but with such a long history relating to steam and diesel transport in this area it is no surprise to see many fine examples at this local rally.
Other exhibits at this rally include Classic & Vintage Cars, Commercial vehicles, Tractors, Motorcycles & Military vehicles. Steam & Stationary engines. There is a large central area surrounded by food and drink tents with ample free parking. Many exhibiters will turn the usual three day event into a short holiday and many tents and caravans can be seen dotted around the many acres of open fields that comprise the rally area.
One event that attracts many exhibitors is the Tractor section, there is every conceivable manufacturer on display, all lovingly restored by their proud owners and most having vibrant colours.
I bumped into an old friend who informed me that he also collected tractors and now owned seven of them! Here is one he was exhibiting a David Brown 800
David Brown 800
DB 800 in the arena
Another one he owned was this Field Marshall who’s engine made a unique sound like a small cannon going off, which he reliably informed me was because it was turbo charged! Apparently the unique design of that strange shaped exhaust pipe was what created this.
It was very interesting to watch as each tractor entered the arena and a master of ceremonies chatted to each competitor.
Moving around the site there were many other exhibitors with small engines that at some time had performed a function such as pumping water or operating other mechanical devices, again all lovingly restored and many converted to run on gas.
Running on Propane
This guy was even churning butter using a small engine.
Now being a bit of an old ‘Rocker’ I was attracted to the old British motorbikes and it was a joy to see some of the famous makes, especially my favourite BSA’s
love at first sight
BSA 750
A couple of Triumphs and a Matchless make a nice little collection
There was a large display of Military Vehicles and equipment, enough to start a small army.
This one had a Bren gun which someone had thoughtfully chained up!
We even had an example of a British Ferret Scout Car, which reminded me of ‘Gruber’s Little Tank’ for those that still remember “Hello, Hello”
This one even had a Sten gun Mk.5 laying on the top, lets hope that the firing pin was removed as it wasn't chained up.
And this was just the job for shooting pigeons off the roof
Now this was an interesting motorcycle combo usually seen in old war movies getting blown up. It is a German BMW and it had everything on it, machine gun, wooden handled stick grenades and even a Panzer Faust which was an anti tank weapon similar to a bazooka. The owner was very kind and pushed it out onto the grass so I could get a better picture and he told me something interesting, it was actually built in Russia! Apparently before hostilities started the Germans had licensed them to be built them in Russia, so during the war both sides were using the same vehicle.
In the adjacent field were the Classic & Vintage cars often accompanied by their owners enjoying the sunshine.
A couple on their way to the show arena with their pristine looking 'Arrow' motor car
A nice example of an Austin 7
Another classic car
And another
Now who wouldn't fancy driving around in this MG TF 1500?
After walking around for a couple of hours I sat down near this old musical organ to have a rest and listen to a few tunes, it gave the area a real carnival atmosphere.
Nearby was one of those old Threshing Machines that were originally driven by a steam engine similar to the one at the top and much later by tractor power. I remember watching one of these working in the fields when I was a very small boy and it was not unlike the one in this picture, maybe it was the same one!
Moving on it was time to look at what must have been a hundred lorries & vans of all descriptions and types, many of course were Foden or ERF vehicles.
Remember riding on one of these?
Everyone remembers the BRS lorries
But do you remember the delivery vans?
There were also plenty of other vehicles and there were a few that caught my attention, Mr Plod, what a fabulous name for a dumpy little Scammel tow truck.
Somehow I seem to remember when ambulances looked like this
I loved this tow truck it was beatifully maintained and the people who owned it were a pleasure to chat with, so enthusiastic. He even took my name and address and sent me a free calendar without me even asking.
But my favourites have always been the Steam Traction Engines, maybe because as an apprentice I used to work on them and while walking around I bumped into this chap who also used to work on them as well.
Several were the full sized versions such as this beautifully restored Road Roller and the fabulous red Traction Engine shown at the top of the page.
Somewhere I have a picture of Fred Dibnah on one like this.
One has only to look at this to appreciate the Victorian engineering
But my favourite has to be this one that was originally transported all the way out to Tasmania soon after it was built where it worked tirelessly before eventually falling into disrepair. It was purchased by the present owner and shipped back to the UK in bits and as you can see, lovingly restored, he told me that he named it after the town where it was found, a place called Carrick, hence the name ‘Lady Carrick’
Finally they were all paraded around the main arena and we were allowed to get in close for a few pictures. All in all it was a rare hot summer day and I spent a few enjoyable hours getting all my pictures, just a few of which I have shared with you here, so hopefully you will also enjoy looking at them.
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Thank you for your perseverance in completing this blog! It was well worth the effort. Super shots and brilliant narrative made it a real pleasure.
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Thanks Glynis, to be honest it was a real pain in the **** to complete it. I use other sites and they are nowhere near as much of a problem as it is on here, why is it so hard to upload photo's and why is there no 'Draft' option when you save instead of everything becoming visible before you have completed the blog and tidied it all up?
Tez
Images in the Smoke blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/502456
Smallwood Vintage Rally blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/497014
Moreton Hall blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/465393#comment-11667
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Excellent !
But far tooooo many " I remember them" moments for my liking !
....surely I'm not as old as I think I must be ....I've always thought I was part of the 'present' generation but it appears that I've been instantly transported to the 'past' generation without me noticing it !
One of my favourite childhood memories was standing pitchfork in hand waiting to despatch the rats as they jumped off the thresher when the sheaves were thrown inside...one of the most amusing bits was watching the farm cats scarper when they saw the size of the rats coming towards them!
Great blog well worth the effort you put in to overcome Mr. Fuji's hurdles
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Really well done blog...
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Superb blog, awesome images!! Hard to pick a fave as they are all so good, but I do have a thing for traction engines and the ferret scout was great as were the roadsters.. heck - too hard!! Thanks for posting!
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Glad you made the effort, some cracking shots.
Cheers Kim.
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Brilliant.Brought back a lot of memories.
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nice blog Terry, a nice varied selection of subjects. good to see these in wonderful condition. looks like the weather was nice too.
i found a lorry scrapyard recently which had similar lorries in but sadly seen better days.
10/10 for perseverence, it was worth it.
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Thanks for perservering Terry...it was worth it in the end. Well done.
Jim
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Terrific blog. Great photos.
I like machines. Pleased to to see some motorbikes.
Love the Fodens.
Big like!
Ian
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Superb blog with brilliant pictures.The ferret scout car has 6 gears and a lever for forward or reverse so you could go as fast backwards as you can forwards. i got to 3rd gear in reverse but then chickened out and stopped.Thanks for sharing these pictures with us.
Ron.
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Lovely blog! I like all the photos. It's really uniqe and I spent a lot of time going through it.
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Again, thanks for all your encouraging comments.
Tez
Images in the Smoke blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/502456
Smallwood Vintage Rally blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/497014
Moreton Hall blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/465393#comment-11667
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Hi Terry how are you well I hope what a stunning photoblog of one of my favourite venue"s I think these steam rally"s are brilliant and you have made a brilliant job of which I bet was a super day out well done you. terry a great blog and many thanks for sharing best wishes BoB.
P/S Perhaps you could have a peek at my Llandudno Blog when I meet up with a couple of Fuji members thanks.
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Terry. I am so happy that you persevered. For myself, it was well worth it. Looking at the first tractor, I could immediately smell the old oil smell from my childhood. Then an old B.S.A. [ Bits Stuck Anywhere], Gold Star. Then the couple of Triumph's, was one a Tiger Cub'? Then ... the end. Oh! Well. all good thing must come to an end. Thanks for the memories.
Jan.
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Thanks Jan, I did see a few Tiger Cubs but not sure if that is one near the back in the picture. I did spot another old favourite of mine the 250 cc C15 Star, but to be honest it did not look that well restored so I left the picture out. However it did remind me that I had not put in the picture of a WW2 German BMW motorbike combo, so I have now added it in the military section of the blog pictures if you want another look.
Tez
Images in the Smoke blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/502456
Smallwood Vintage Rally blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/497014
Moreton Hall blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/465393#comment-11667
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Hi Terry. Fantastic trip down memory lane..Well, I'm not that old to actually remember them all on the road but I do like the old classics with character and class. So colourful and such passion and a labour of love to keep these still going. I enjoyed viewing your photoblog and well done for persevering in compiling and submitting your photoblog. Mine took a marathon five hours to upload solidly as I had loaded 49 out of 53 photos after two hours of loading and lost the lot due to site maintenance. I re-started and completed after five hours and that wasn't taking into account the two full days previously to research and do the draft narrative to copy and paste. The end results in both cases well, well worth the effort. Well done Tez. Best Wishes Alison (Alison visits Viv in York Photoblog http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/77182/493459
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Nice informative blog Terry with some nicely composed and processed shots .
I like the variation of wide encompassing shots to the close crop detailed shots.
Good mixture of shots , and much appreciated effort with the information .
Excellent standard of blog.
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Thanks for persevering Terry. Loved looking at the old vehicles, not got a favourite one. It is frightening when you remember so many of them. A lovely walk down memory lane.Thanks for posting. A big like from me.
Christine
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Great set of shots and perfect weather for the event as well - thanks for sharing
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What a fantastic set of pictures you have in this blog terry. All the vehicles and machinery etc from the past look amazing. What a great day it must of been to see them all. Would of loved to of been there myself. A big thanks for sharing and a like from me. Paul.
PS- I have a new blog `Sights of the yorkshire dales` if you fancy taking a look, Link below. Thanks Paul.
http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/822372/496914
(My photos may not be the best but they represent a part of my life to share with those who care to look).
(My photos may not be the best but they represent a part of my life to share with those who care to look)
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A superb blog Terry. That was a very interesting day out. great inages and interesting narrative. Thanks for posting.
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Tez, take heart when your hard work appears to go unnoticed, I guess that's the downside to large Internet sites (a lot of good material gets missed first time round)
Eventually your work will shine through & appreciation will follow
You have lots of encouragement here, keep up the good work
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What a great day this must have been. Wonderful photographs and a great narative a proper blog for a change. A great pleasure to read.
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Time to say thanks again folks for your kind comments.
Tez
Images in the Smoke blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/502456
Smallwood Vintage Rally blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/497014
Moreton Hall blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/465393#comment-11667
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Very interesting and well put together. Thanks for taking the time to post it.
Ian
Gallery:
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Thanks for a super blog, Terry. I wanted to go to this rally, but I was on holiday. Not too many miles from where I live and one of my daughters lives in Winsford. I visit quite a few County Shows and some of these vehicles are there. Think they still have those buses in Malta.
I plan to have another go at my blog which I lost first time round, due to "site maintenance". It will be about the "Thundersprint" in Northwich...if you like bikes this is the place to go!! Thanks again for all the great images and perseverence.
Sheila x
What if the Hokey-Cokey really is what it's all about??
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Thanks Sheila, please persevere with your own blog it should be really interesting with all those bikes on display. I have never been to that particular event, but it is only about 30 minutes drive away so I will keep an eye open for next years event. Regarding the buses in Malta, judging by the state of them I think that they use the ones before they get restored.
Tez
Images in the Smoke blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/502456
Smallwood Vintage Rally blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/497014
Moreton Hall blog: http://www.myfinepix.com/blog/330512/465393#comment-11667
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some fantastic machines on show there! you've captured them well, great blog looks like you got a fantastic day for it
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This is a fantastic blog. A wide range of vehicles - my favourites has to be the army vehicles and weapons. Thanks for comments on my recent effort.
Regards
Ray
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Great blog Terry. One of my own areas of interest, sadly unfulfilled most of the time. Not enough rallies are held around here. Good images and lots of information. A huge like from me.
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