Welland Steam and Country Rally (14th - 26th July, 2026)

This is one of 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, they are easily found by using your favourite search engine and may have anything between a handful of steam engines and hundreds (as at the Great Dorset Steam Fair which could probably be fairly described as having an excess of riches). Click here for the overall index for 2026. 

I had been eagerly anticipating this, the 60th anniversary event. However, it turned into something of a personal disaster as just about everything that could go wrong did. For as long as I have been attending, the rally site has suffered from being bleached and dusty and this year the current extended hot, dry spell made it even worse. Like most rallies at the moment, the coal was unfit for purpose and the breeze spread smoke everywhere especially on the Hill. After a bright start on the Friday, it soon became hazy with high cloud eventually spoiling my photography. I am no longer as resilient to such conditions as I used to be and by 16.00, I was feeling distinctly uncomfortable and decided it was best to go home. I had an early bed and next morning, while I felt a bit better, it was obvious that the day would offer more of the same, so I stayed home. Sunday promised plenty of cloud so I cut my losses. I'm very grateful to Peter Hall for a list of rally entrants which you can access by clicking here.

Welland Steam Scenes 2026

Below are some pictures which give a flavour of Friday at the rally.

	Maker	Number	Registration	Notes
	Aveling and Porter	11363/1925	I 1F	This is a rare tandem roller which regularly visits from its base in Ireland.
	Aveling and Porter	12502/1929	MW 5825	There were just three 'new' engines for me among the 140 engines attending. Inevitably one of them was this humble roller.
	Clayton and Shuttleworth	48793/1924	J 9695	As far as I can see from the Traction Engine Register, the company built relatively few steam rollers.
	Wallis and Steevens	8082/1934	CG 9931	This roller has a local connection having worked for the estate at Eastnor Castle whose name appears on the board.
	McLaren	772/1903	BS 8792	An engine which somehow managed to escape the general embargo on repatriation from New Zealand. It is much larger than the average UK traction engines and was not well positioned when I found it just inside the playpen base for those attempting the 'Hill'. This was the second of my 'new' engines.
	Burrell	3937/1922	SU 1212	'Janet' tops the 'Hill' quite early in the day when the conditions were still as good as it got.
	Case	14540	1904	By the time that the Case got there, things were pretty desperate...
	Foden	9052/1920	SN 1607	Another shot that worked was of Foden Rob Roy.
	Garrett	31210/1913	BJ 1643	I'm a great believer in 'succession planning'...
	Aveling and Porter	3387/1894	HKJ 817	Steam sawing is a prominent feature in the working area. Fortunately they started early while the light was still good.
	Foden	13488/1929	RO 6330	This was my third new engine.
	Fowler	11082/1907	SV 7345	This was the most unusual of the three ploughing engines present, being a K5, the smallest type built by the company. It was assembled at the company's Magdeburg base in the then Bohemia.
	Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies	31066/1920	PV 4943	I have a soft spot for 'Hooky', the former Ransomes' works engine, not least because I first saw it at my second 'modern' rally at South Cerney back in August 2013. Here it assists by carrying logs for sawing. There's a very interesting creature in the background on the right.
				It's a replica Nayler steam tractor under construction. The company was based locally in Hereford and all that is left of these engines is a few pictures.
				This is how it will look when it is finished. Such projects do not come cheap and It's good to see someone putting their money where their mouth is. I hope I last long enough to see it in steam one day.