The Lincoln Steam & Vintage Rally is so big that it really needs to be a three-day show, and with exhibitors being allowed in from Thursday lunchtime, unofficially I suppose it is for a lot of people. However, work commitments and a lack of back-end holiday allowance mean tea-time Friday is the earliest we can arrive. However, we still had a choice of four pitches in the bygones section so we elected to join our Norfolk friends for the weekend opposite the classic caravan line.

With a few less trade stands across the end of the section, a few horticultural hand-tool exhibitors had been moved up to join the bygones. This had achieved 50% favour with two being happy and the other two wanting to be back with their machinery friends near the tractors. With one other bygones attendee falling out with his stewards over his pitch, this should allow another three displays next year.

Moving down to the military vehicles, it was apparent this year both here and at other events the heavy (and thus expensive to run) vehicles were thin on the ground. There was a Morris Quad gun-tractor complete with gun, but apart from the Mack, GMC & solitary Scammell, the rest were in the main Bedford, Landies & Jeeps of various makes. Separate to the militaries, was a display of fire-fighting vehicles from the Manston Fire Engine Collection, and a separate display from the Northern area of the Fire Service Preservation Group.

The lack of heavy prime-movers carried over into the general commercial section where a few usual faces and vehicles were conspicuously absent i.e. the heavy haulage units, OB vans and car transporters. However, there were some new faces with a couple of Bedford J-types not seen before, plus a very rare 1910s Lacre van on Saturday, replaced by a AEC Y-type flat-bed on Sunday, both vehicles being driven on a 60-mile round trip each day from their Nottinghamshire base.

The steam section was on a par with previous years, that is to say, a very good mix of steam engines of all types and just three each of Foden & Sentinel steam wagons. With better weather, clearer air and good timing, Caz was able to motor up and down the engine lines for the first time in years to see the mix of around a hundred entries.

Moving around to the horticulture and tractor sections, the latter are of course lined up here in make and model order so you have, in my opinion, a boring line-up of a load of orange, then blue, then grey, then red, etc etc. At times, the change from one model to another in the sequence can give an interesting photo opportunity, as can the single figure numbers of the rarer makes, e.g., Singer, OTA, SFV, Hurlimann, Turner, Austin, etc. The rest were just photographed in groups to give some idea of the numbers present.

The stationary engine section again appeared full to capacity and with many friends in this section took a bit of time to get around. There is so many engines to look at in this section, we cannot possibly give space to photographs of all of them, but just give a flavour of what is there. One highlight this year as fine weather to see the engines mounted up in the vans and lorries running at night time, mostly illuminated under their own power.

Across the way, the model collections in the exhibition hall excelled this year with some innovative displays of Meccano such as the frontage of Chatsworth House, Scammell Constructor & Contractor prime movers and several large scale models of steam locomotives. Mr Eva’s model street scene, vehicles and repair shop always enchants, and another set of intricate models is the row of market stalls. The various model fairground rides, side-stalls and transport are always brilliant and other bits and pieces such as Bayco are never seen anywhere else we attend.

Elsewhere cars, motorbikes and miniature steam didn’t disappoint in any way, there bring the usual mix of makes and models in all cases. Neither did the fairground and night-time entertainment with the showmen’s engines illuminated and the far-organs also lit up and playing to the exhibitors and campers present.