Summer update
It’s hot out there! We are steaming through 2026, and the engines are in full swing, well apart from Albert, but we will get to that later.
The last newsletter/update was back in March, and since then we have been busy. Where shall we start?
April
We finally finished putting Albert’s new rear tyres on him; it was a task and one we don’t want to repeat. It was a heavy, dirty and long job, taking a few weeks to get them done. Lloyd and Jack took him for a short steam up the road to see how he went on them, and everything seemed good, a little less noisy and bumpy. We then decided to do his cold and steam test as Victoria was also due and we wanted to get them done together; he passed. His next job was to take his flywheel and crank out of him, ready to go off to be repaired.
Over the Easter weekend, we went out with Francois the Foden, doing about a 10-mile road run with him. We met with a friend and his roller and had a lovely afternoon steaming around the local roads and a stop for a lovely glass of lemonade.
Victoria also had her cold test, and we needed to do a quick repair to her before she could have her steam test, but this was soon done, and she passed her test and was ready for the season ahead.
Also a bit of a celebration on 23rd April as it had been 2 years since Albert had come back to join us; time flies, he has had a lot of work done in that time, and we have had many happy hours with him, on the road and on the rally fields; hopefully he will soon be back out with us after his latest repair.
May
The first few weekends of May were mainly spent cleaning Victoria and getting her ready for the rally season. We always like to give her a good clean and start with a very shiny engine, as it’s easier to keep up with through the rest of the year. In the middle of the month, we went over to Amberley to put back together their West Sussex Roller “Joan”; she had had some work done and needed her gear guard back on and a couple of other bits. This was also the museum’s “Home Front” weekend, always a good show with lots of military vehicles in attendance.
Over the bank holiday at the end of the month, Victoria had a couple of events to attend, firstly a local to us charity event, held in our village on a very hot Saturday afternoon. It was busy with a nice array of things to see and do: cars, tractors, stalls, old-fashioned games, walks through the fields, ice cream and live music- an excellent afternoon.
Then on the Monday, up very early and off to Petersfield; the weather was so hot, over 30C and not what you want on a traction engine. We did the 6-mile trip; we had the trailer on too with passengers. We had brought a garden parasol for the passengers to keep the sun off, and this worked well. As the day progressed, it just got hotter and hotter, and by the time it was time to leave, we were too hot, but we made it, albeit Lloyd had got a bit of sunstroke, I think, and by the time we got home he was exhausted. That being said, we had a great weekend with friends and family.The next weekend we made our way to Hollycombe Steam Fair in Hampshire, not too far away from where we live, for their steam rally the following weekend. Victoria went really well and only took us just under an hour.
June
The first weekend of the month was a busy one: Hollycombe steam rally and on the Friday was Wendy’s birthday. We were hoping to stay at Hollycombe, but the weather report wasn’t the best, so we decided that, as it’s only about 7 miles from home, we would come home, and that meant on Friday evening we could have a little family get-together for Wendy’s birthday. Up on Saturday morning, and it was raining, we arrived for the day, and the rain just did not stop. As the day progressed, the rain seemed to get heavier, so Victoria didn’t come out from under her cover along with a couple of other engines, and by 5pm we were done with the rain and came home. Sunday was much better, but we had to get Victoria out of the hole they had parked us in. We steamed up and put our friend on standby to help us get out. Not only did we have to get out of the hole we were in, but the track out was muddy, and Victoria, with her slick tyres, is not great with slippery, muddy tracks, but she did it, and we parked with all the other engines for the day. We then had to get the living van out; luckily, our friend had his lovely big tractor there, and he went and towed it out for us, no problem, thanks, Tractor Jack.
We had a good day with friends, and then it was time to road to our friend’s yard ready for us to be picked up and taken to Sussex for our next event.
The last weekend of June was another busy one; we had a road run with friends to the local brewery for an evening of live music and pizza. With 3 engines on the run, one engine was the first time on the road with its owner after a long overhaul, and another was a pre-1900 engine; all 3 went well, and we had a fine evening, eating and chatting with friends old and new.
The next day was an early start as we were roading Victoria and her road train from our friends’ yard near Billingshurst to Amberley Museum in West Sussex, a trip of about 20 miles. We had a great trip; Victoria went well, and with just one stop for water and oil up, the crew had a quick bit of lunch too. We were on the road again, arriving at Amberley at around 2.30pm. It took about 4 hours, so an excellent run. We set up camp at Amberley, where we would be based for a few weeks, and then returned home for a shower and rest!
At the end of June we celebrated a big milestone: Victoria’s Torton Tales was 10 years old. Wow! I cannot believe we have been doing this for 10 years; sometimes it feels like only yesterday the first two books were published.
A quick note from Wendy
“Hi all, I can’t believe I have been doing this for 10 years, from when I wrote those two stories on scraps of paper for my children way back about 22 years or so ago; my children are now 29 and 26. Then to think that I have now published 5 children’s storybooks along with the Activity book and early counting book, it’s mad! I would like to thank all who have supported me and purchased my books. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I still feel there are so many more people who need to see the books, and I will keep going promoting and pushing them out there. It hasn’t been easy sometimes with knockbacks; sometimes it does make you think if it is all worth it, but I feel that I can’t stop now. Let’s keep pushing forward and get the job done. Anyway, thank you and love to you all.” Wendy x
July
The first weekend of July, and it was Amberley Museum’s steam rally, with a fair few visiting engines and good weather; it was an excellent event, lots of different engines and some good crowds of people visiting. We had Victoria and Francois there; Albert, sadly, is still out of action, but we had a great weekend, and Albert was very much missed by us.
A couple of weeks later was their Steam Railway Gala, again another great weekend; both Victoria and Francois were in steam and went well. Also, plenty of visitors around the train station areas and watching many of Amberley’s locos doing their thing.
What’s next for us
Well, we are at Amberley until the beginning of August before heading back to Hampshire, where we will be attending the local to us event “Tracks Across the Fields”, an excellent event with many, many tractors all ploughing and a handful of us steamers running around the six or so fields they have in use. If you live near us and would like to come and see us, then pop over; Wendy will have her books there for you to purchase.
Now let’s talk about the black engine, “Albert”. As many of you will know, he had his new tyres put on, but then we are having to get his flywheel and crank repaired. We tried a quick fix which did last for the 2025 season; now it must be done properly. His flywheel is not running true around on his crankshaft; this is just due to everything being old. So, we have taken his flywheel off and the crankshaft out, which has gone off for repair. They will bore out the centre of the flywheel, and the crank will be built up with weld and then turned down to a nice even round shape. The flywheel will then have a bush made to fit in the centre, and that will then fit nicely onto the crank; hopefully, then it will all run smoothly without the wobble. We had this done to Victoria a few years ago, and it is still very much fixed, so now it’s Albert’s turn. We are hoping Albert will be back with us at the beginning of August and will join us at Tracks Across the Fields, so watch this space, fingers crossed, as we are really missing him now and Victoria would like her husband back!
Other vehicles
We have been out and about over the sunny months with our cars, with them all attending car shows and events. Delilah has had some work done and was off the road for a few weeks; she had running issues, and Jack wanted to get them sorted. Dottie has been fine up until she acquired a petrol leak, so she is in the process of being fixed. Our Lancia Volumex Coupe, Vernon, has been to a few events and, as always, brings lots of interest, as there are only a few on the road, so it’s quite a rare car to see, and he is running well. Finnigan the tractor has done a few jobs around the yard, moving our trailer and helping out where he can, but hasn’t been to a show yet; maybe later in the season. And finally, our living van is doing a great job of having somewhere for us to sleep and eat at rallies and having all the tools that we need to keep us moving when we are out at events or on the road. Wendy loves her living van. We are thinking though that over the winter months this year it is going to need some repairs and a repaint, but we won’t worry about that now!
Victoria’s Steam Rally Mobile Phone Game
Have you seen the new free game we have for you to play on the rally field if you are visiting any rallies? You can take our free Look-and-Find at The Steam Rally game with you. Just look around the steam engines at the rally and find the 10 items on your search list to become a Master Steam Rally Inspector. For each item you find, answer a simple question, then tap the “Found it!” button to increase the pressure on the gauge. Hit full pressure to blow the whistle and be awarded your own Master Steam Rally Inspector Certificate to print and keep! It’s free to use and completely safe for little ones to enjoy. Your child’s name stays on your device and is not shared with us or anyone else. Bring your child’s Master Steam Rally Inspector certificate to an event where Victoria the traction engine from Victoria’s Torton Tales is attending and claim their free sticker. Hope you have fun playing the game.
So that’s it for this time. Please remember to help Wendy spread the word of her marvellous books; she always appreciates your help and kind words of support. Hope to see you out and about somewhere; please do come and say hi.
We will see you next time
