Great Dorset Steam Fair - Thursday 28th August 2013
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Posted on: 2/09/13
Updated on: 6/09/13
Posted on: 2/09/13
Updated on: 6/09/13
All rolled up
For many, the really special part of the 2013 show was 'The Greatest Ever Gathering of Rollers in the World', and I don't think there's any hyperbole in that title; it was! The display covered road rollers from across the years; from the oldest operating steam roller in the UK, Aveling & Porter No:2018, built in 1884, to one of JCB's current range of rollers, through the different technological developments, such as the Wallis and Steevens 'Advance' roller which allowed for quick reversing to avoid dips in the then new tarmac roads (find out how here), to early petrol and diesel rollers. One looked very strange indeed, literally being a conversion from a 1919 Ruston & Hornsby steam roller with a Nuffield tractor engine and transmission plonked on top in place of the cylinders and fly-wheel!
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Not just static
Another special part of every Great Dorset Steam Fair is that it isn't just about these historic machines lined up looking pretty, you get to see them doing just what they were made to do, and having some fun too. Several of the steam rollers worked on the road making display alongside other classic plant; the full works - a traction engine working a stone crusher, a 1965 Thwaites dumper and a 1959 Massey Ferguson backhoe loader. Even a 1940s Parker concrete mixer! A selection of traction engines ran a wide variety of equipment, from log splitters and saws, to threshers and baling machines. The ploughing engines worked in pairs, breaking the land, the classic plant worked on digging and filling trenches, a good number of classic tractors could be found doing what they do best. Happily, though, the military vehicles didn't do a demonstration....
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And the fun. The main ring had a air of organised chaos throughout the day with steam rollers trundling round, being overtaken by faster traction engines, steam lorries and a few steam cars zipping along and some spectacular heavy loads, with the diesel heavy haulage units and their steam predecessors doing what they do best.
The highlight of the day had to be seeing McLaren traction engine 'Colossous' single handedly taking BR Standard 4MT No:73096, and the DAF XF tractor unit |
and low loader combination it was on, up the hill in a cloud of steam and dust. Most impressive, considering 'Colossus' has a power rating of only 10 nominal horse power!
You can watch this feat, and much more besides, in the overview video.
All in all, an amazing day out - I struggled to fit it all in! If you haven't been to the Great Dorset Steam Fair before, you must go - it has an extraordinary atmosphere all of its own. Priceless.
You can watch this feat, and much more besides, in the overview video.
All in all, an amazing day out - I struggled to fit it all in! If you haven't been to the Great Dorset Steam Fair before, you must go - it has an extraordinary atmosphere all of its own. Priceless.