News Round Up

East Riding Engine Club Shares its Success

Last August’s Driffield Steam and Vintage Rally, the 23^rd organised by the East Riding Engine Club, was the most successful in the event’s history.  Helped by the fine weather in what had been a very wet summer, there were record attendances on both days. The caravan and camping section was the largest yet with many of the visitors spending five or six days at the showground and enjoying not only the rally but also other local attractions.

The financial success of the event meant that the Club was able to make record donations totalling £10,200 to local charities at its January social meeting held at the Driffield Rugby Club.  Chairman, Harold Bell, commented that this was a significant amount for a small club and something to be very proud of. The Club’s President, Mike Middlewood, presented cheques to representatives of the following charities:  Driffield Branch of  Yorkshire Cancer Research,  British Heart Foundation, McMillan Nurses, Fire Service and Police Benevolent funds,  St John Ambulance, Kirkburn Church,  Nafferton Millennium Committee, Dove House Hospice, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Driffield Old Folks Tea. The clubs principal charity,  Yorkshire Cancer Research, had also collected £2400 from public donations during the traditional Saturday night vintage road run into the town centre.

Planning is now underway for this year’s event to be held on 10^th & 11^th August.

2012 Rally DVD Supports Cancer Research

A DVD featuring the 2012 rally is now available. Priced at £12, the double DVD lasts for 3 hours and the producer, Ian Wolstencroft, is donating £6 from every sale to Cancer Research via the East Riding Engine Club. Ian also compiled a double DVD last year entitled ‘Yorkshire Circular by Classic Car’ in which the viewer is taken by Humber Sceptre to the Humber Museum in Hull then through Beverley, including a visit to the Minster, on the way to the  Newby Hall Car Rally, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and the 2011 Driffield Rally road run. This DVD is £10 of which £4 will be donated back to the club for Cancer Research. Both DVD ’s can be ordered through the club chairman Harold Bell on 01964 542260 or directly from Ian on 07942 816897.

2012 Rally Round Up 

Yes, 2012 was another successful show the rain stopped at last and we had a taste of a good old British summer.....for a couple of days anyway!  A huge THANK YOU is warranted for the hard work put in by all the stewards, officials, and organisers, who ensured that this years event would, as it always has, build on the last. However the continuing success of this fantastic event is only ever assured if the great British public continue to come along and see examples of the very best of British vintage engineering and it's use in times gone by - and by golly you came in record numbers, so we also say a big THANK YOU to you too, but please, remember to come again next year.

The report below sums up this years show very well, and hopefully it will whet your appetite and encourage you to come again next year. It was written by Steve Lilly and is as published in Vintage Spirit, so a big thank you to both Steve and Vintage Spirit for supporting the Driffield Vintage Rally by allowing it to be seen here:

For once this summer the weather and ground conditions did not dominate the proceedings or topic of conversation at a steam rally for this year’s Driffield Steam & Vintage Rally basked in two days of warm sunshine and, more importantly, enjoyed record numbers through its gates.  

Organised by The East Riding Engine Club, which back in May of this year at the town’s Mayor making ceremony, was awarded the Driffield Town Council’s Community Contribution Award in recognition of the significant effect the rally had on the town’s well being and economy while at the same time raising thousands of pounds for very deserving local charities.  This year’s bucket collection during the Saturday’s evening road run, which this year it seemed as if the whole of the town had come out to witness, resulted in the local branch of Cancer Research benefiting by some £2400. The club itself also makes a significant donation to Yorkshire Cancer Research as well as donations to several other local charities and this year the amounts will hopefully be at record levels due to the bumper attendance over the two days.

The town’s agricultural showground plays host to the rally and each year the Club’s team of 18 dedicated section officers try to mix things up a bit with fresh exhibits in all sections.

 At 12-30pm on the Saturday the town’s Mayor Joan Cooper & Club Chairman Harold Bell joined the line up of engines in the main arena to officially declare the 23^rd Driffield Steam & Vintage Rally open.  

Certainly causing a stir in the engine section with the latest addition to the J.C Ward collection was his 1917 Sentinel 6 ton steam wagon no 1488, attending only its 2^nd rally since the completion of a very extensive 26 month restoration program. This Sentinel was new to Brown Bailey Steels of Sheffield where it carried No. 8 in its fleet after which it went on to give service to Coors Brewing Co from who Mr Ward Purchased it in a very sad and sorry state.  Now back in steam the Sentinel is carrying the same green Denby Steam Cartage Co livery as his 1905 Yorkshire steam Wagon which was also in attendance.

There were fresh exhibits also to be found in the line up of rollers, one of which was the 1912 Aveling & Porter no 7856 of John Carr. John is enjoying a second spell of ownership with this engine having owned it with his late brother David for seven years between 1964 & 1971.  Also here for the first time was ‘Irish lady’ a 10 ton Fowler roller No.15965 which left Leeds in 1925 to go and work for Antrim County Council for whom she was to spend all her working life.

One of the main events of the day in the arena is the 100 ton pull were the leading engine will attempt to pull a string of fellow engines weighing in the region of 100 tons. On the Saturday when World’s Fair visited this was the responsibility of Showman’s engine ‘Success’, the 1934 Foster (Ex Hibble & Mellors) No. 14632 which successfully pulled the chain consisting of Marshall’s No’s 46276 ’Pearl’ & 87003 ‘Surprise’, Fowler’s No’s 11352 ‘Sandy’ & 15462 ‘Ajax’ along with No. 14321 ‘Yorkshire Belle’.  With dense black smoke belching out of its chimney ‘Success’ soon had the line up in motion and completed a circuit of the arena with considerable ease.

On a return visit were 12 members of the Steam Car Club of Great Britain which had a 1900 Locomobile Surrey & 1906 Morriss amongst its ranks.

 Showing the signs of the work in progress to the cab was the 1935 Mammoth Major MKII of D. Moulding which had made the long trip up from Leicester, while another 1935 vehicle, this time a Dodge Surry of C. Kerridge from Stowmarket, was showing off its recently completed re-spray.

With a record number of entrants in all classes filling the rally field it was amazing to see the Leyland Titan PD1 double decker bus standing alone on little green oasis of grass. Built in 1946, chassis no 460995 is powered by a Leyland E181 7.4 litre  six cylinder diesel engine driving a four speed crash gearbox while the body is 56 seat metal framed Highbridge which went on to give 16 years of loyal service to Warrington corporation until it was sold on.