Horse Power Rally, Timaru (1st - 2nd October, 2022)

This site is host to a series of pages which I have uploaded to illustrate facets of steam rallies we have attended in the UK. Such events occur all over the country in the summer months, click here for the overall index for 2022.

Similar events occur outside the UK, mainly in the English speaking parts of the world but also in continental Europe. In general they tend to be small by UK standards and I am extremely grateful to Wilson Lythgoe for providing the pictures and information for this rally in South Island, New Zealand. he writes:

"The day before the Horse Power Rally was miserably cold with no sun, a little rain and lots of wind so it was with relief Saturday dawned cloud free and, as it turned out, remained that way for most of the day.

At 8.30am I was the third car into the public car park where a minibus was waiting to take folk the short distance to the Rally site. At the drop off point a Fowler traction engine and a Hornsby portable made for a promising start but on finding there were only six full-sized engines lined up in the traction engine arena my thoughts became less positive.

As it turned out though these six engines were enough to keep me happily entertained for the next six hours! They took turns doing laps of the arena and working old farm equipment but the highlight for me was two engines moving a semi-trailer of gravel. One engine tried but after a short distance stalled so a second was called for. The smoke and noise as these two engines from another era got a modern semi-trailer underway and kept it moving was a sight worth seeing.

The local newspaper reported: 'The weekend’s rally had a military theme, and included 70 military vehicles on display, 10 artillery guns and more than 50 people involved in a military battle re-enactment. There was also a vintage car display, craft and food stalls, children’s entertainment stalls as well as a large display of traction engines.' I think there were also a large tractor and farm machinery displays but apart from a visit to a food stall I ignored all other activities being focused only on the traction engines."

UK readers will smile at the reference to a 'large display of traction engines"! This was the third such event which is scheduled to be biennial. If any local 'steam' enthusiasts read this report, then I would be very grateful for similar contributions for other events in the country and, of course, this applies elsewhere, particularly Australia which has historical connections to the UK and many UK built steam road engines.

Click here for the Surviving Steam Road Engines Index.

Click here for an illustrated part list of surviving New Zealand road engines. 

For me the star of the show would have been this humble Hornsby portable engine. Nominally it is 2000 of 1870 but it carries parts of at least three other engines as it was rebuilt from a long abandoned wreck. Hornsby portables are not rare but like this one they tend to be found rusty and abandoned in obscure corners of the world and I have yet to see one in steam or, in fact, anything like steamable condition.

General Engines

	Maker	Number	Date	Notes
	Burrell	2886	1907
	Burrell	3051	1908
	Burrell	3165	1909
	Burrell	3259	1911/1912	McLean's Island, Christchurch 2002 Picture
	Fowler	13597	1912
	Marshall	57913	1912
	McLaren	1817	1926

Portable Engine

	Maker	Number	Date	Notes
	Hornsby	2000	ca 1870