Old Iron Across the Pond

You have to be quite wealthy to own a steam traction engine here in the U.K., as the cost of a working example will set you back something similar to the cost of a small house. In no way do these owners come across as “rich” though, as most of them are clad in oily overalls and will have streaks of coal dust on their faces. They are, in many ways, the polar opposites of the sort of people who own supercars. They are often wonderfully eccentric, deeply practical when it comes to mending things and very unassuming. These are the sort of people who make me think that, perhaps in some ways at least, Britain is still great.

Caerwys characters

Of course, it’s the steam traction engines — and the vintage cars, motorcycles, tractors, trucks and old machinery — that are the main attractions at a vintage vehicle show. However, there’s something else that I find highly entertaining, and that’s the people, or more specifically, the fascinating characters who congregate at these events. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people who collect old machinery are a bit “unusual,” and I find that people who are a bit out of the ordinary are generally very entertaining. Sometimes we don’t even get to know these fascinating characters’ names. They are often just people we have random encounters with. For instance at Caerwys, we met “Zodiak Man” — a man who owns a 1960s Ford Zodiak and who is a great raconteur. Then there is “Ambulance Wood Man,” a sweet, soft-spoken little gentleman with a long, elfin like beard who makes beautiful wooden items, like clothes dryers, stools and spoons, and sells them out of the back of his old ambulance.

One year, there was also “Rupert Bear Man,” who was turned out as a well-dressed bear from a children’s book and had a lovely south Wales accent. He was raising money for charity. We have also met “Tent Man” at a vintage rally. He was a tent maker and tent repair expert who kept us entertained for a good hour with his stories of his world-wide camping expeditions. He also kindly gave us some of the correct pegs for my son’s tent.

This year at Caerwys, we had the pleasure of meeting some of the people who bring heavy horses to the show. There was a woman called Georgie who owned a beautiful and very cuddly Clydesdale gelding, and a man called Steve Kemp who had brought a very patient and well-trained shire horse, complete with all of the decorative brass ornaments that these working horses traditionally wore in order to ward off evil spirits. It’s always a pleasure to see these people, and I am always grateful that they are keeping the old horse-drawn traditions alive.

This year’s show organizers put my partner’s display of antique horse-drawn equipment near a bunch of military reenactment enthusiasts. Some of these characters were dressed in the clothing of WWI and WWII, and they had war-time jeeps, trucks and motorbikes, but then there were others who went further back in time in history with their reenactment. We were lucky enough to be camping next to some reenacting the military life of those British soldiers who fought in the Napoleonic wars over 200 years ago. These dashing looking men had the ornate uniforms of the period, as well as cannons, weapons and beautiful antique looking tents that they lived in for the whole weekend.

They cooked their food on simple wood fires, and from our van window, it looked for all the world as if we had stepped back in time as we sat watching these fascinating-looking gentlemen relaxing around the fire in their uniforms, drinking out of their tin cups, talking and laughing together as the sun went down. Later in the evening, as we came back from the bustle of the beer tent area, we went to bed listening to the sounds of these “soldiers” playing guitars and banjos and singing into the night. There was something really quite magical and timeless about it.

Family weekend

I’m lucky enough to have several vintage vehicle enthusiasts in my family, and this means that I have the pleasure of being able to play around in some lovely old vehicles without actually having to pay for or maintain any of these machines myself. My brother, Bob, has a 1950s British-built Austin car, as well as a 1975 Unimog U900, made by Mercedes Benz, which he drove to the show, towing a caravan behind it.

My nephew Matthew took his 1942 Fordson Model N to the show, towing it on a trailer behind his 1957 Commer Q4 lorry. My 16-year-old son decided to ride his Honda 50 Cub motorcycle there, for although it isn’t an old bike as such, it is built in exactly the same way as the first Honda Cubs were back in the late 1950s. The Honda Cub claims to be “the most produced motor vehicle in history,” and if one ever sees films of streets and roads in East Asia, it is obvious that these simple, durable and affordable little motorbikes are still immensely popular today.

Another nephew, Damian, had set up camp in the stationary engine section of the show, and in front of his camper van, he had his 1920 Crossley engine mounted on a trailer. He kept it running through both days so that people could see it in action. This British-built 7hp engine can also be useful at night, as Damian has set it up so that it can power lights, but sometimes by the evening, Damian is happy to turn the engine off for a bit of peace! If one is going to exhibit working stationary engines, one has to be the sort of person who doesn’t mind listening to the constant pop, spit and chug they produce, each with their own tone, pitch and rhythm. Some engines are commonplace on the rally circuit, but the Crossley is nice to see. Back in its day, it was quite an expensive engine, and many collectors today think of these Crossleys as the “Rolls Royce” of the stationary engine scene. Anyone can go and buy a nice engine, but what makes Damian’s engine special is the fact that it has always been in this particular part of North Wales, and Damian has the full history of it.

The engine was bought new by a farmer named Evan Jones, who lived on the outskirts of our little market town of Llanrwst. Arriving by train at the Llanrwst Station, the engine was in three pieces, with each piece on a separate pallet. This was because the engine was too heavy to lift manually in one piece. The three pallets would have been carried by horse and cart to the farm “Tyddyn Ucha,” where its new owners lived. Then a Crossley engineer travelled to the farm to reassemble the engine and get it running properly. It’s quite likely that the engineer traveled to Llanrwst the same way as the engine — by train and up to the farm by horse and cart — had because, whilst, of course, there were motor cars on the roads in 1920, they were few and far between, especially in this rural part of North Wales.

My partner Paul’s collection of horsedrawn equipment made up an interesting static display that showcased some of the old machinery makers who were popular some 100 to 150 years ago here in the U.K. Some of the English names like Bentall and Bamfords of Uttoxeter are instantly recognisable to anyone who has an interest in barn machinery and horse-drawn equipment, but other names, like John Williams of Rhuddlan, are of special interest to us because this was a Welsh company, and it is always nice to see a Welsh company’s wares on display in a Welsh show. Paul’s collection of horse-drawn implements and hand-powered barn machines tell the story of what farm life was like in Britain pre-mechanization. While these machines hark back to a simpler, quieter time, and a slower pace of life, they also remind us that farm work before mechanization was back-breaking, slow and extremely labour-intensive. These “tools of the trade” were often ornately crafted, and they came from a time when Britain was a hive of ironworking activity.

Britain was once a country that produced the frameworks for numerous landmark buildings and bridges worldwide, and then, on a more local level, it was a country full of village blacksmiths and small foundries, all of which were busy feeding our nation’s need for hard-wearing, well-made tools.

A long way from home…

Seeing all of the different displays of cars, trucks, tractors and machinery that were once made in the U.K., it’s easy to think of the Caerwys show, and others like it, as a celebration of all things that were once great about Britain. Moreover, to some extent, to lament over the fact that we don’t make much of anything in this country anymore. But this show wasn’t all about the golden age of British industry — there were also a few examples of machinery made in other countries — including the U.S.

As I walked along the rows of British-built tractors of yesteryear, I suddenly saw an American flag, and there under the flag was a Farmall F14, a tractor that would be instantly recognizable to any of you, but is actually quite an unusual sight here in the U.K. The owner, John Price, was sitting on the tractor, which was handy as it meant I could quiz him. He was able to tell me that this 1938 F14 was brought to the U.K. during the late 1980s. John is quite a fan of American tractors. As well as this Farmall F14, he also owns a Farmall H, and he regularly takes these tractors to shows. He and his wife enjoy representing the American tractors at these events.

For British tractor enthusiasts who are fond of International Harvester tractors, combine harvesters, or indeed any other the farm machines that IH made, there is a U.K.-based club called the International Harvester Club of Great Britain. Run by enthusiasts and volunteers, this club offers help with learning about these tractors and buying spare parts. The club also sponsors ploughing match trophies at events that run special classes for IH tractors, as well as having stands and displays at some of our larger shows.

Another American tractor, the oldest tractor in the show, was the Waterloo Boy belonging to Welshman Harry Williams. As the show came to a close the minimalist outline of this Waterloo Boy was silhouetted against the red sky, cutting quite a dramatic scene. Not far from the Waterloo Boy was a big modern Massey Ferguson tractor, the model of which escapes me (sorry, I have almost zero interest in modern tractors!). This huge MF obviously belonged to one of the show’s organizers. It was being used to haul away the fences that had been used around the show-ring. Looking at the two tractors, old and new, one could see how far we have come in a century of tractor design. It’s impressive what has been achieved, but I think, unlike the Waterloo Boy, this MF will prove far too complicated and expensive to keep running for a hundred years. The beauty of the Waterloo Boy was its simplicity — and to me, the best designs are always the simplest. FC

Josephine Roberts lives on an old-fashioned smallholding in Snowdonia, North Wales, and has a passion for all things vintage. Email her at josiewales2021@aol.com