STEAM OUT IN FORCE FOR ANNIVERSARY RUN

Back in 1961 a group of local enthusiasts decided to hold a small traction engine rally at Church Stretton after it looked as if the annual carnival might be cancelled due to the lack of floats. The event duly took place on August 7 that year, The Society and the County of Salop Rally were born.

By 1970, the rally had become a two-day event and had moved to Bishop’s Castle where three different sites were used for the rally over the years. On the event’s 21st anniversary, a special road run was organised which ran back to the rally’s former venue at Church Stretton, while for the 25th anniversary, a run to the Sentinel works in Shrewsbury was organised.

By 1991, the event had moved to Walcot Hall, near Lydbury North, which was an extremely picturesque location, it even had its own boating lake which meant that steam boats could be operated, a unique feature. But the site had one drawback, its tendency to become waterlogged after heavy rain due to the undulating nature of the land. Those that attended the 1992 event will not have forgotten the deep mud that plagued the site, which meant that nothing was able to move