Lotus

There were several Lotuses in the field for the Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006 and here are photographs of two of them.

This is a 1982 Lotus 91 in the pit garage

The Lotus 91 driven by Dan Collins during a practice session followed by the 1977 Ensign N177 of John Crowson and the 1978 Williams FW06 of Tony Smith

Dan Collins again during the practice session

The 1976 Lotus 77 of Chris Locke, again during the practice session

Friday's Ferrari

The Ferrari & Maserati Festival of Racing at Donington Park in May 2003 featured a race billed as the 'Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge'. You can read about the Ferrari Challenge Championship here and below are photographs of some of the Ferrari F355 Challenge models which took part in that race.

Entered and driven by Bo McCormick of London

Entered by Mike & Graham Reeder Performance & Specialist Cars and driven by Mike Reeder of Pewsley

Entered and driven by Les Charneca of Harrogate

Entered and driven by Mike Furness of St Albans

Entered by Mike & Graham Reeder Performance & Specialist Cars and driven by Graham Reeder of Pewsley

Talyllyn Railway

The Talyllyn Railway is one of many preserved narrow gauge railways in Wales and runs from Tywyn an the Cardigan coast about seven and a quarter miles inland to Nant Gwernol, and you can read all about the railway here. Below are some photographs taken at Wharf Station in Tywyn during a holiday in North Wales in August 1995.

Locomotive number 4 was built by Kerr Stuart in 1921 and is named 'Edward Thomas', but is seen here in the guise of 'Peter Sam', one of the 'Thomas the Tank Engine' series of locomotives. The 'Thomas and Friends' website says:

'Peter Sam is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Edward Thomas. Interestingly, Edward Thomas only donned the Giesl ejector funnel for a limited time, while Peter Sam has used his since its introduction.'

Locomotive number 1 was built by Fletcher Jennings in 1864 and is named 'Talyllyn'

'Talyllyn' is one of the line's two original locomotives

Locomotive number 7, 'Tom Rolt', seen here arriving from Nant Gwernol, was built at the Talyllyn's Pendre works in 1991

'Talyllyn' again, this time setting off for Nant Gwernol

'Tom Rolt' again - this locomotive was named after the author L.T.C.Rolt, who inspired the Talyllyn's preservation

'Tom Rolt' being made ready for its next journey

Guernsey Classic Vehicle Club Show 24 June 2012

Here's some more photographs that I took of the cars on display at the 2012 show. I didn't note any details of the cars at the time so I'm relying on my knowledge of older cars (with a little help from Google searches) to say what the cars are.

The right-hand car's an Austin 7 from the mid-1930s, but I'm not too sure about the one on the left. It's a Morris, probably a Major, from the early 1930s.

This is obviously a Rolls Royce and I think the Twenty was the only one made with the horizontal radiator slats. It dates from the mid 1920s.

It's difficult to differentiate between some of the T-type MGs but I think that this is a TA, produced between 1936 and 1939. Bad composition - the bouncy castle is behind the MG, not on top of the roof!

The Humber Sceptre was produced between 1963 and 1976 and this is a Mk2 which was in production from 1965 to 1967.

Another MG, this time a Y-type, although whether it's a YA or YB I can't tell. The YA was made between 1947 and 1951 and the YB from 1951 to 1953.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of three Ferraris entered in the Champagne Charles Heidsieck Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

It's a Ferrari 750 Monza, entered and driven in the race by Paul Alexander, and this is what Wikipedia says about the Ferrari Monza:

750 Monza

1954 saw the introduction of a new four-cylinder sports racer, the 750 Monza. Sporting a three-litre version of the 500 Mondial's engine, the Monza was much more powerful, with 250 hp (186 kW) available, but barely heavier at 760 kg (1675 lb). The new-style body was penned by Pinin Farina and presaged the droop-nose look of the famed 250 GTO, but it was Scaglietti's 750 Monza, with its faired-in headrest suggesting the flowing Testa Rossa that drew attention.

Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli piloted their 750 Monza to victory at Monza on its very first race, giving the car its name. Although they were strong on the track, the Monza was unable to hold off the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in 1955, allowing the Germans to seize the sports car championship that Ferrari claimed in 1954.

The serial number of this car is 0470MD.

Pallot Museum, Jersey - Other Steam-driven Vehicles

As well as the railway engines there are other steam-driven vehicles in the museum:

This is a 1904 Ransomes, Simms & Jefferies traction engine, and the Pallot Museum website has this to say about 'Dolly May' - named after the wife of Lyndon Charles 'Don' Pallot:

'This engine was brought over to Jersey soon after the Occupation, to be used for soil sterilization at La Valeuse Farm, St Brelade.  Fortunately, the ‘workings’ remained intact and eventually it was ‘put out to grass’.  It was only when the scrap man had been contacted on several occasions in the 1960’s and had failed to collect the machine that, in desperation, the owners got got in touch with the late Don Pallot, founder of the Steam Museum, and a deal was agreed for the sum of £12. 10 shillings.'

A 1922 Marshall Compound 12 ton roller and below is the information sheet about the machine:

A 1925 Marshall Compound 8 ton roller, with the information sheet below:

What this strange creature in a corner of the car park is I know not.

Bugatti

I've shown photographs of Bugattis a couple of times previously and this one is a 1928 Type 40 seen at the HSCC Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

The car didn't compete in any of the races, it was just parked in the paddock during the meeting.

Friday's Ferrari

Two cars here seen at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

Both are Ferrari Dino 246 F1 Grand Prix cars, number 2 being shown in the programme as a 1960 car owned and driven in the Pre '61 Grand Prix Car Race by Tony Merrick and number 3 a 1959 car owned and driven by Robin Lodge.

The Dino 246 F1 was introduced in 1958 and used by Ferrari for three seasons, undergoing continuous development during that period. Mike Hawthorn won the World Championship in 1958 despite winning only one race, the French Grand Prix. Peter Collins was the only other winner for Ferrari, in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and Ferrari finished in second place in the Constructors Championship. The car underwent a change of bodywork for 1959 and again won two races, in France and Germany, the winning driver both times being Tony Brooks who finished in second place in the Drivers Championship and Ferrari were again second in the Constructors Championship. There was little change to the appearance of the car in the 1960 season, but the days of the front-engined Grand Prix car were numbered and the car only won one race, appropriately the Italian Grand Prix, in the hands of Phil Hill - although the race was boycotted by the British teams because the banked circuit at Monza was being used - and this was the last Grand Prix race to be won by a front-engined car. Phil Hill was the top Ferrari driver in the Championship table, finishing in fifth place, and Ferrari were third in the Constructors Championship. After the last race of the 1960 season all the cars except for one were broken up as usually happened to the Grand Prix Ferraris of that period, but since then several cars have been recreated using the engines and other mechanical parts which had been retrieved.

The two cars in the photograph look identical and you can see that the tails look to be the same height. I don't know if there is a mechanical difference between the 1959 and 1960 cars, but as far as the bodywork was concerned I remember that the 1959 cars had a higher tail than the 1960 car - not unlike the Vanwall of that period, but not quite so high. The bottom image in this series of photographs of Phil Hill show him in the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix and you can see the higher tail. In that particular race the car also has a shortened nose as many of the cars racing at Monaco did to reduce the possibility of damage to the car due to the problems of racing at that circuit.

Here's three more photographs of the cars at that 1995 meeting.

Chevrolet Corvette

The first Chevrolet Corvette was produced in 1953 and has been produced since then in a variety of guises as detailed in this Wikipedia article.

The first race in the HSCC Summer Race meeting at Oulton Park on 4th July 1992 was entitled the 'Barley Construction Improved Road Sports Championship' and one of the cars entered in the race was this First Generation C1 1958 Chevrolet Corvette.

This car was also entered in a second race later in the day which, in an acknowledgment of it being the fourth of July, was entitled the 'HSCC Independence Day Race'. The programme says 'This invitation race is open to American V8 engined cars built before 1971, and to limited production sports cars using American V8 engines'. The car behind the Corvette was entered in that race and is a 1964 Ford Falcon.

Here's the car during the first race at the Knickerbrook Chicane being driven by Bernie Chodosh and followed by the 1965 Shelby Cobra GT350 of Ralph Avis. The yellow Corvette in the background (the 1969 car of Hal Danby) appears to  be stopped on the road which forms part of the shorter circuit at this point. The international circuit carries on up Lakeside here behind the yellow Corvette and you can see one of the other cars in the race making its way up there to Island Bend.

Pallot Museum, Jersey - More Tractors

Here's another three of the Pallot Museum tractors:

This is a 1960 Fordson Dexta, and below is the information sheet

Another Fordson, a 1935 Fordson 'N', and its information sheet below

Yet another Fordson, this time a 1949 Fordson E27 'Major'

Friday's Ferrari

Today's car is one which took part in the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race at Silverstone at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting in July 1998.

It's a 1950 Ferrari 166/195 Inter Vignale Coupe, originally built as a 166 it was later uprated to 195 specification. The car is chassis number 071S and you can read about it here.

Morgan 3 Wheelers

Many of the Historic and VSCC car meetings include a race for the 3 wheel Morgan cars and today's photographs are of some of the cars which took part in such a race at the Aston Martin Owners' Club meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

The nearest car (no. 5) is a 1930 Morgan Super Aero Jap 10/40 and the far one (no. 16) is a 1934 Morgan F4 Ford E93A. I can't make out a race number on the middle car, so can't identify it.

This is a 1932 Morgan Super Sports Matchless MX4

Number 6 is a 1930 Morgan Super Aero Jap 10/40 and Number 20 a 1924 Morgan EB Ware Replica JAP

Here is a 1932 Morgan Super Sports Matchless MX2

This one is a 1933 Morgan Super Sports JAP 8/80

And finally a 1938 Morgan F Super Ford E93A