Our return trip to the 2006 Little Casterton Working Weekend was as enjoyable as the first visit with a plethora of vintage equipment at work in the raw. Special features this year were Massey Harris equipment and disc ploughs, the latter rarely seen at other events, plus a stopover by an Alvis vintage car owners' club, out on a road run on the Sunday.

The veteran tractor section saw examples of Avery, Aldays & Onions, Clayton, International Harvester Mogul & Junior, Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co., Moline, Overtime, Parrett and Wallis. Vintage tractors included Allis Chalmers, Case, Caterpillar, Cletrac, David Brown, Ferguson Brown, Field Marshall, Fordson, International, John Deere, Lanz, Massey Harris, Minneapolis Moline and Orsi.

With the patronage of "Rocket" Ron Knight, this is always a rally to see working combine harvesters and although the examples on show this year were not as large or impressive as last year, they were managed better. In 2005, because of their size, only one could be worked at a time, but this year after an initial few runs through the corn, four roughly equal size plots were left. So it was that the 1941 Massey Harris 21 combine, 1950 Massey Harris 750 trailed combine behind the Cletrac, Massey Harris Pacemaker with Sunshine binder and Massey Harris 4-wheel drive tractor with Sunshine No 6 trailed combine could cut the corn all weekend.

Following up the combine harvesters was a New Holland baler with its own engine powering the machine. There were many other different implements to be seen from a couple of seed drills trundling up and down, to the various types of disc plough (or more aptly plow) on show. These included examples from Case, Fordson, Ransomes, David Brown, Massey Harris, John Deere, Minneapolis Moline & Sunshine. Locally built bits of kit included a Martins cultivator and Blackstone elevator and "Stamford" corn mill.

Grinding mills were also much in evidence on the stationary engine line with five different makes on show, another Blackstone, Bentall, William Corbett, Archibald Kenrick and Bamford, together with a Bamford clipper chaff-cutter, Blackstone, Bamford and Stuart water pumps, hacksaw and generator. There were more large engines these year with two Blackstones, a Hornsby Ackroyd, Crossley and massive 44hp National. Smaller examples included Amanco, Cooper, Gardner, Lister, Ruston PT, Bamford Tulip-top, Bentall Pioneer, Fowler, Wolseley & Fairbanks Morse.

Steam engines on show included a non-matching pair of Fowler BB1 ploughing engines with 5-furrow balance plough, Ransomes Simms & Jeffries traction and portable engines, Ruston Hornsby traction and portable plus a rare Tuxford portable. Most of these engines were powering both Ransomes & Garvie threshing machines, baler & chaff-cutter in the working area near to the barns. Also in this area could be found the various living vans including examples by Eddison, Garrett & Fowler. Elsewhere a Wallis tractor was running a White-Massey-Harris threshing drum.

The display of motor vehicles provided by the 20-49 Motor Club included an ultra rare Cottin Desgouttes with Weymann body, beloved to be the sole example of its type and one of only a few survivors of this marque. Another rarity was the 1925 Dennis lorry in unrestored condition. The Fordson van in Tinwell Road Tractors and Ford Thames van in John Roberts Transport Services liveries were also interesting, both being local firms. The cars were enhanced, if only for 90 minutes or so, by a contingent of Alvis owners out for a road run, with a very prestigious line up of vehicles.

This is only my second visit to the show but I'm assured it never goes stale because all exhibitors are encouraged and expected, if not asked directly, to bring something different each year, and not repeat it for a number of years. This ensures that, maybe steam engines and living vans apart, there will be something different again to see next year on 15-16 September 2007. We hope to see it too.