We made the short trip to Hamilton on 17th May to support the locals and make the most of the unseasonably pleasant autumn weather.
Old truck duly parked checked in and a few introductions, we proceeded to check out the displays.
The Grounds of the museum are quite large and spread over a couple of sites comprising historic buildings, displays, working exhibits and storage sheds full of equipment and paraphernalia.
It took a good deal of time to look through extensive collections of all things pertaining to rural life, and of historic significance from the whole district.
A bite to eat from the extensive menu served by the friendly canteen staff was consumed.
More time was spent looking at some of the working displays including working horses on the chaff cutter and ploughing, many different configurations of tractor drawn implements and the start of the tractor pull event.
Static displays of tractors, implements, working stationary engines and several trade displays complimented the theme of the show along with the chairoplane and jumping castle to keep the kids entertained.
The afternoon rolled on whilst we soaked up the atmosphere and sounds of Field Marshals and Fergies only to be alerted by the sound of a Detroit sneaking in to the grounds.
Gilly and the shiny Dodge complete with his C line on top of the Haulmark had arrived and promptly disappeared in to the paddock to unload.
Gilly had parked the trailer in the paddock, and the pidgeon pair in the display area had increased the number of trucks that were a wide cross section on display, from the excellent lone Peterbilt to the workhorses of a bygone era.
Big R190s all the way down to a 510 Acco made up the International contingent, all manner of Fords from Jail bar to F series along with Dodge variants along with Chevrolet and Studebaker flying the stars and stripes and British breeds Commer, Morris, Thames, Austin and a 1933 Dennis fire engine making up a fine contigent.
The majority of the trucks, in their working clothes were used to haul the equipment on display in the other arenas and was confined to its own area in no particular order.
Other vehicles including cars and hot rods were mustered in no specific order again in their own enclosures.
The night closed in and we made our way to the dining hall for the evening meal.
We were ushered in to a full house to partake of the excellent 2 course meal once again served up by the friendly club members.
Guest speaker Ron Medson representing the International Harvester club gave an excellent PowerPoint presentation on the rise and falls of the IH Company and reflected on his time with the company whilst taking questions from the audience.
Sunday morning and club members were on hand again for the breakfast serving at the canteen, where we did a bit more networking, met a few more contacts and more information was learned and exchanged.
An array of British motorcycles assembled forming their own display, whilst the riders took part in the breakfast.
The morning passed more photos taken and the opportunity arose for a trip to Campe`s Motor Museum in Hamilton.
Denize, Gilly and I were astounded at the broad range of mostly lighter vehicles and all sorts of memorabilia that are on display and I would recommend a look if you are in the district.
Back to the grounds, time to pack the gear away and make a few more last minute contacts before the presentations.
Thanks go out to the committee, club members and all participants for putting on such a wide ranging show with something of interest for a wide cross section of the community.
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