Smallwood Steam Rally

[Horus]

As I mentioned in another thread I visited a local Steam Rally yesterday with my daughter and son. Unfortunately the weather was not so good, not an uncommon outcome for this particular event, often it has to be cancelled due to the fields that they use being turned into a quagmire by heavy rain. Some years I have visited it has been glorious weather, but this year it was overcast with the odd shower in between some sunshine, it didn’t spoil the day though. There is loads to see and I often stop and find out a bit of background info to some of the more interesting exhibits that are on display. Here I have posted just a few general photos to give you some idea of what goes on, but I will post some more showing specific aspects of what was on view in several sections rather than try and lump everything together, here is a general overview of what was going on.

[Grandad]

Interesting stuff H That looks like a really big mixed event. Was it just on for one day?

When you talk steam traction that really rings some bells for me. In the thirties my father worked for a local company that had two ploughing engines. You may remember how an engine would be placed at opposite ends of a field and with their cable reel would haul a plough to and fro across the field. They may have been Aveling-Barfords but maybe in your other pictures you would have seen one.
Love steam power

[LovelyLadyLux]

Interesting photos H and a really eclectic group of displays! Who carrys about 2 large tortoises!?!? And the donkey was definitely decked out nicely too.

What is photo #10? Small cube with all sorts of wheels? Was it something or was it just what it was?

Given all there was to look at and contemplate would have made it quite an interesting day.

[Horus]

Grandad it was over 3 days, Saturday, Sunday & Monday. Funnily enough I was pointing one of those out to my kids explaining how they were used to plough and I did take a photo of it, I will post it in due course.

@LLL They don't carry them about as they are far to heavy to pick up and there are more than just the two, so more of them later.
Did you mean image #9? if so it is a very old steam driven woodworking bandsaw.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Ahh Bandsaw. Now that you say it I can see it. All I could see before were big wheels but now I'm seeing the actual saw......…..interesting. The huge wheels are lovely.

Too bad the weather wasn't optimal as I'm betting all the Sellers would have had really interesting wares to offer for sale.

[Kiya]

Lovely photos and looks like an interesting day out

Couldn't help noticing the Red colour in all your photos stand out well

[Horus]

@LLL, all the stalls were selling everything from clothing to old woodworking and engineering tools to spare parts for a million items. If you needed a badge for a 1960's Mini Car or a 'Spoke shave' to carve a wooden cart wheel, you could find one. Lots of food stalls and of course a beer tent With regards to the wheels, they are all cast iron and the painting is all done by hand as is all the paintwork on the steam engines. Here is a closer view of the machine and the small staem engine that drives it all.

@Kiya, It is maybe down to the camera or it could because I have to adjust every image in Photoshop as the majority were very dark because of the poor weather and the camera I used is not really that good, but it fits in my pocket and easier to use when I have Annie on her leash. I think that the reds although bright are a fairly good representation of the day.

[LovelyLadyLux]

The wheels are interesting and if handpainted it must've taken somebody some time to get it all so precise. It always impresses me that 'way back when' tools were made to be decorative as well as utilitarian i.e. sewing machines were often floral wonders and even these wheels could have had straight spokes verses the curvy ones they have. I'd imagine it was way more difficult to cast a wavy spoke than a straight one however I'm thinking that since these wheels don't really have weight bearing torque on them they can be wavy which is aesthetically pleasing.

[Horus]

Grandad, as promised a photo of a steam engine designed to plough fields. As you may remember there were usually two engines, one at either end of the field and they pulled the plough across between them. In the photo you can see the winch rope and the winding gears in my photo of this beastie.

I managed to find a video to show how the two engines were used, note the 'rocking plough' that allowed them to go in the opposite direction without turning the plough around.

[Grandad]

That is fantastic H, thanks for finding it. Although it was before the war that my father worked on a similar set up, I clearly remember seeing them working in the fields near where we lived during the war.
Health and safety..........what's health and safety?

Old names that come to mind are Fowler, as in the vidio, Aveling Barford and Ruston-Bucyrus. I think Avelings were originally made in Kent and, if I remember correctly, used to have the Invicta, prancing horse, Kentish symbol on the front of the boiler.

I also well remember seeing traction engines going to the next job along the road at the bottom of our lane. They would be towing a 4 wheel caravan that the crew lived in and attached to that was the water tank on large steel spoked wheels. We would hang on to the back of the water trailer on our bicycles. One day I had an accident while doing this which really bent my handle bars. I never told my mum what really happened, just said I fell off. Actually it could have been very serious.......but boys will be boys

[Horus]

Grandad I think that they were made in Grantham, they had a couple of mergers during their time and once had a connection to Perkins (the famous diesel engine manufacturers) and the 'Ruston' of later 'Ruston Bucyrus' fame. Ruston Bucyrus went on to be one of the biggest dragline bucket machine manufacturers in the world, I can remember as a young lad thinking it was called Ruston Bucky-Russ.

[Grandad]

@Horus
I served my time with the engineering division of a local company that was, and still is, a major supplier of aggregates and roadmaking materials. The engineering division is long gone.They have quarries so I can also remember the big RB draglines with huge buckets hauling sand and gravel from the quarries. This then went through a sieving machine that separated all the dredged materials into the different grades. A simple but clever and efficient process.

[Horus]

In my early engineering days I worked for a large company that used to repair the Ruston Bucyrus machines in the UK, if I remember correctly the 'Bucyrus' part was origionally an American company.

[Horus]

Another interesting display was this fella who ran an Owl sanctuary, I had a nice chat with him and he told me that this European Eagle Owl would have no problem in snatching Annie. The Owl itself was very placid and could be held on peoples arms although it was really heavy and you needed that forked stick underneath just to take the weight. There were also two little owls sitting together on a perch that made me laugh as they kept looking all around them whereas the others seemed to sit quite still.

[Grandad]

Beautiful creatures H and that Eagle owl is certainly something else. I am sure rabbits would not be safe with him around...

[LovelyLadyLux]

Gorgeous owl H and not a sound will be made when they fly which is, in part, why they're such successful predators. Really a big one too! WOW! Love the colour of his or her eyes.

[Horus]

Staying on the animal theme, I did mention some giant tortoises and LLL asked who would want 2 off them, well there is more than just the 2. Chatting to the owners they tell me they aquire them from collections that are closing down and believe it or not the government of the Galapagos islands actually sell their surplus ones. The large one is about 35 years old and not yet old enough to breed (they are around 50 ish when they do) but as they live to be about 150 years old I suppose thats about right. The big one will grow about another third in size and they told me that they cannot lift him into the transport trailer and they have to coax him up the ramp, if he objects then they just have to wait until he complies, by the way he cannot pass through a normal doorway. As usual Annie wants to make friends and play.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I never knew or realized that the Galapagos was selling their tortoises. I guess if they're FULL so to speak it makes sense they sell them - just nothing I'd ever thought about.

Interesting too the big tortoise shell is rounded over whilst the smaller ones have pointier shells. Wonder if that is a function of age OR if it signifies a different between male/female?

Definitely hope the big guy is compliant too. That would sure be difficult to get going/moving if he refused to move it when it was time to pick up and go.

They're definitely interesting though.

[Grandad]

I always think there is something pre historic looking about giant tortoises, much the same as with crocodiles.
There were some giant tortoises at the wildlife park last Wednesday. These seemed to have distinct lines around the segments of their shells. I suppose there are different species?

20190529 Visit to Wingham wildlife Park-011.JPG

[Horus]

Grandad, I do know that the tortoise shells are different on each of the islands that make up the Galapagos group. some for example only have taller shrubs for them to feed on and those tortoises have large raised shells above their heads plus long legs and necks so that they can reach upwards to feed. Others have different adaptions to make them suitable to survive in their own particular habitat.