It’s been a busy few months since the last time we wrote a newsletter.
With the season well and truly under way it’s been all go.
Back to May and we were preparing for the rallies, we are pleased to say that we got to our first event with all 3 engines, but it was a bit tight in getting everything ready.
Albert had just been through his 10-year hydraulic test, so we needed to get him back together, this was done, new wooden lagging, lagging sheets and brass bands reattached and all looking good. As always, he needed a good clean, although he is not as clean and shiny as Victoria. We always like to keep them clean, as you go round cleaning, wiping the dirt and oil off, quite often this is when you find things that need replacing or fixing or even in some cases bits missing (this happened on Victoria a couple of years ago). We then decided he should go for a road run to check all was good, we have done so much work to him we felt that a shakedown before we moved him back to Amberley Museum would be a good idea. On a lovely sunny morning we steamed up and went for a lovely chuff around the Sussex countryside, called into a lovely café for a coffee and cake and then chuffed back to the yard. All went well and Lloyd and Jack were happy with how he went.
June arrived and we needed to get on with cleaning Victoria and Francois too, so we spent a few days over the next few weeks cleaning Victoria, she had not really had her good beginning of the season clean due to the fact that Albert had taking all our spare time up with his work, so we tried to get a good few hours on Victoria. Francois the Foden also needed to be brought out of his hiding place where he had been over the winter, he had come through the winter well, he is also outside for the winter due to lack of a shed!! Maybe one day we will be able to keep all our engines together in a lovely shed, anyone know of one in our area, East Hampshire? A couple of little jobs needed doing to Francois and then one evening we decided to lightly steam him to check him over but before we knew it Jack had steamed him and was off up the road for a few miles around our village. Everything was working well, and he went like a dream.
Our plan was to road Victoria and the living van to Amberley Museum a couple of weeks before the event we were doing there, but there were some major roadworks happening in our village and the main road through the village was going to be closed for a couple of weeks, a detour would add a good few miles and time to our trip and we were starting to run out of time. So, a major decision was made, Victoria and the living van would have to be low loaded and leave home before the road is closed! In the middle of June Victoria and the living van were loaded and taken to Sussex.
We then had a couple of weeks until the Large Steam Show at Amberley, so we made good use of the time and spent most of it cleaning although the weather was so hot, 34c some days which is a little too hot to stand on an engine cleaning. Jack wanted to steam Albert, so he steamed him on one of the days and again all was good.
July, and the Large Steam Show at Amberley Museum, a lovely weekend, with our engines and a good handful of visiting engines, it was a great event. Albert spent most of Saturday morning on trailer rides with our trailer, Victoria trundled around the site most of the weekend and Francois joined in to. The weather tried to stop us from enjoying our time but it didn’t really work, apart from Sunday afternoon as we had what could only be describe as a monsoon, the wind blew and the rain was sideways, we took cover first in our big gazebo but then after everything getting blown over and soaked we retreated to our living van. It was something I had not seen before, with the museum’s roads inches in water, barns flooded and puddles everywhere but with in a hour it was all back to normal, and we carried on.
I will try and remember some of the engines that visited, here we go… Fowler traction engine “Edna”, Garrett traction engine “Olive”, Marshall roller “Omen”, Aveling roller “Lydia”, Aveling roller “Thelma”, 9 inch Tasker “Thisisit”, Burrell Gold Medal tractor “Tiger”, Ruston Proctor tractor “The Lincoln Imp” and the very small full size roller “Owd Butty”. Also, Nick Pidgley’s Advance roller “Wally” and Amberley’s own Marshall roller “Joan”, and there was a Stanley Steam car running around too, with a small selection of miniatures who run around the site all weekend. All in all, a great selection of engines.
On the Monday we had a photo charter at the museum so we steamed both Victoria and Albert again for this and as always it was a good day. We sit the engines around the museum for the photographers to take their pictures, this year was a little different as they wanted us to drive round so they could take pictures of us on the move. But by the time we had finished at about 4.30/5pm we were very tired. We had been at the museum since early Friday morning, so it had been a long weekend, and we were pleased to get home. I was a great weekend, and we look forward to 2026.
The following weekend we took a Saturday off from steam engines and did a few jobs in our garden but Sunday morning we were up early and back off to Amberley Museum, one, to clean the engines, but it was also their classic car event, so we joined in and took our old Lancia Volumex Coupe. Loads of classics visited and it was great to see so many 70’s and 80’s cars on display. Engines cleaned and ready for the next event.
The following weekend was Amberley Museum Railway Gala weekend, with a few other rail locos visiting it was going to be a good one. But once again on the Saturday morning the weather let us down, it poured for a while so steaming up Victoria and Albert were held off for a while but by the afternoon it had turned into a lovely afternoon, and the museum was full of visitors. Saturday evening, we had Jacket spuds out of Victoria’s smokebox, and they were delicious, we had a steam around the museum taking a few pictures and it turned out to be a lovely way to spend the evening. Sunday, we brought out Francois for the day and also Fowler “Edna” who was still at the museum came out to join us. It was also one of our crew’s 25th birthday, Seren enjoyed their birthday we even had a birthday cake!
All the engines seemed to be running well, which is a relief after all the work we have had done but its time for Francois the Foden to have his cold and steam test, so the following weekend one of the days we spent getting him ready and as I write this we are please to say on Saturday just gone Francois had his test and all passed so we are good to go.
Onto what is next for us, we are off to a new event for us on 16th & 17th August, “Tracks Across the Field” held fairly local to us in Froxfield, near Petersfield, Hampshire. It looks like a lovely event, mainly tractors, who will be ploughing and working the land, along with a few other vehicles and displays, also horses, which Wendy will love (she use to have horses), and a few traction engines, we are going along with Victoria and Albert for the weekend, and I think Finnigan is also joining us. So, this would be a great event to come and see us if you’re local with 3 of our Victoria’s Torton Tales characters there, Victoria, Albert and Finnigan. We are really looking forward to this event and hope the weather is good to us.
Then at the end of August over to Balls Cross near Petworth, West Sussex for the charity rally we love to go to every year, Victoria, Albert, Francois and our 2 little Morris cars Delilah and Dotty will be joining us.
Then back to Amberley Museum for their Miniature Steam weekend in the middle of September and at the beginning of October is their Autumn Gathering event.
Cars and tractor
I think all the cars have been out, Dotty and Delilah have made their way to Amberley a few times, our Lancia has been to a couple of shows and our local club meeting on a evening at the pub, we also have an event booked in with the Lancia at Goodwood House, so that should be good.
Finnigan the Tractor hasn’t really been out much this year but he is hoping to join us, as I said earlier in this newsletter, at Tracks Across the Field, so looking forward to seeing him out at an event.
Wendy is working hard to keep up the good work promoting and selling her lovely books, we have had a fairly good run of sales over the last few weeks but as always more is needed. She really wants to get her 6th book out there and if she can get a few more sales then fingers crossed book 6 will be on its way, a little help from all you lovely people, please help spread the word of these amazing children’s story books.
If you are coming to see us at any of the events Wendy will have her books for sale from her living van so, please come and find her and she will happily chat with you. If you visit Amberley Museum, then they have all of Wendy’s books in their gift shop so not only will you be helping Wendy but giving Amberley a boost too. Thanks everyone.
Anyway we have rambled on enough so let’s sign off and we’ll see you very soon.
Ta ta for now……..
