Pictures courtesy of Mark Worbey, Kevin Nicholls, Alan Barnes and Alan Nash |
| Click on any thumbnail to view larger image or view the Slide Show |
| The 14th & 15th September was a weekend not to be missed at Old Warden Park. The seventh Bedfordshire Steam & Country Fayre took place with record crowds at our largest rally yet. |
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There was a good selection of first time exhibits, especially in the steam section as well as an increase in the number of larger organs and heavy horses. Admission again included admission to the Shuttleworth Collection and the Falconry Centre, two attractions definitely worth a visit. |
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First time engines came from far and wide as well as some local exhibits. Paul and Ian Vickery made their first appearance at the event with their Aveling & Porter R10 Roller "Mona" which is still undergoing restoration and has been featured in past newsletters. |
| Tomo Thompson attended with his large 15 Ton Aveling "Jupiter" No. 8717 of 1916, whilst O. Owen & P. Leman bought along their large example "Big Bertha", No. 6340 of 1907. Stephen Ross and son David bought their Fowler DNA roller "Dorothy, no. 16979 of 1927. |
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| Jimmy Key from Strumpshaw Steam Museum came with Foden Wagon 13802 "Santa Maria" whilst in contrast was Super Sentinel 8393 "Sultan" from the Royal Navy's School of Marine Engineering. Burrell 3121 "Keeling" owned by David Smith and Fowler 10371 "Ada" of David Gowlett were new in the agricultural line up, whilst Dennis and Brian Smith bought along their Burrell Road Loco "Dorothy", No. 4093 of 1931. Fowler 7 NHP "Prince of Wales" was the only new engine in the Showman's line up. The engine, No. 14948 was built in 1917 as a winding engine for the Russian army. |
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Two very interesting exhibits were also attending for the first time. John Kilgour not only bought along his Spider Mk1 tractor but also his Mk2 version, which he has been working on in his retirement. The other engine was 12NHP Clayton & Shuttleworth Portable "Old Hiram". Recently purchased by Martin Shepherd the engine, No. 50004 of 1926 was shown in as found condition. The engine is in a bad way and close examination shows rotted through spokes in the back wheels. A major task for Martin but we wish him well and look forward to seeing the engine back at the rally one day in steam. |
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As is standard now at the rally working exhibits featured prominently, with Road making, Timber Sawing and Loading, Threshing and Ploughing demonstrations all taking place. |
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| Again the threshing area saw three sets at work, two steam powered and one by tractor. Michael Watts had both of his drums at work, the 1913 Clayton & Shuttleworth drum coupled to Michael's Marshall "Punch" and the 1935 Marshall drum with the Saunders Collection Wallis & Steevens Expansion engine "Wheatsheaf". Peter Wheeler was working his 1949 Foster drum powered by his Fordson E27N of 1946. |
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The timber sawing area had three rack saw benches hard at work, and as with the threshing there was a mixture of steam and tractor power. Andy Hill had his Denning bench powered by David Philpot's Marshall S Type whilst his new bench, a large Stenner & Gunn example was powered by a Fordson. Colin Brothwell had his Ruston & Hornsby engine running his bench. |
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The timber loading area saw three steam tractors at work, two Foden's, the C-Type of Doug Williamson and the D-Type of Albert Fensom, and Garrett "Patricia" owned by Pat Burbury. |
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| The Fairground was again where possible powered by steam with Burrell engines being in the majority. No. 4000 "Ex Mayor" was working hard on the Dodgems whilst 3949 "Princess Mary" was making a welcome return running the Chair-o-Planes. The engine missed last year's event due to Foot & Mouth restrictions. Burrell 3890 "Majestic" was running the Gallopers whilst Fowler 14225 "Carry On" was powering other rides. |
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Sister engine 14224 "Valiant" was again paired to the Ex Pat Collins Marenghi organ "Wonderland". Other Showman's to be seen in the fair where Burrell's "Nero" and the two Earl's 7NHP "Earl Kitchener" and 6NHP "Earl Haig", as well as Garrett "British Hero" and Fowler's "Jubilee" and "Lady Mary". Becoming very popular is the Saturday evening Road Run to the White Horse at Broom. This year 15 engines took part and were joined by tractors and other vintage vehicles. The run arrived back on site in time for the Saturday Night entertainment at the site starting with the Saunders Stage Show. This was followed by regulars "Rockin Revival" who always prove very popular. Friday night had seen an excellent revival of "Country Life" who were always a popular group at many rallies in the area, and really got the crowd going. |
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There was a large entry of miniature steam with an increase in those of larger scales. Attending for the first time was Michael Plumb with his 6" Scale Burrell Scenic Showman's Road Locomotive "Lady Ellena" and son Steve with his 9" Foden Tractor "Lydia" which was built by member Ken Flemons. Rowan Clark attended with his recently purchased 6" Foden and Michael Maskell bought along John Eastaff's example, which was steamed by Richard Maskell over the weekend. |
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