Amersham Heritage Show

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Now I know this is a classic car blog, so please bear with me. I’m just setting the scene for my American friends. I’ll get to the cars shortly. This show has been in my diary for a long time. I’ve always enjoyed the day, but the thought of rain in early September keeps me on tenterhooks. Shows late in the year are always risky, and I’m sure there’s a good reason this wonderful day doesn’t happen sooner.

The Amersham Heritage Show, organised by the town council, uses both the town's old and new areas. Most of the attractions sit in the delightful Old Town at the bottom of the hill. The streets are lined with an assortment of classic cars, steam engines and old-school motorcycles. Food stands are full of colourful delights to munch on now or take home for your tea.

Artisan stalls sell everything from leather to wood carvings, glass and pottery, arts and crafts, sweets and dog treats. In the middle of it all, there is usually a traditional flower, fruit and vegetable show. An almost inaudible PA system, complete with interference and blasting out a tone only whales understand, describes the day’s events: what’s available at the farmers’ market, what time the birds of prey show starts, and who won a rosette for the biggest marrow.

At the other end of town, away from the smell of late-arriving gas-guzzlers, burning coal, steam and soot, you’ll find a children’s fairground. Candyfloss, popcorn and toffee apples take over the air instead. Are you licking your lips yet?

Bang in the middle, among the memorial gardens and the pond, sits a large marquee.

A live band plays, singers perform, and dance clubs show what they’ve got to a seated audience. If you’ve got the moves, you can join in. Tea, coffee and a bar make this the perfect hangout for a couple of hours. All this takes place in a town full of the most delightful English pubs, where the floors have been polished in ale, and the ceilings are a tinderbox of dried hops and brass. The dents in the beams are from patrons’ heads.

These are the pubs that give you hot roast potatoes and pickled onions on a Sunday, where a fire always burns, and the glasses still have handles, where the gardens smell of lavender and roses, and a leadless dog sleeps on the feet of the customers. Oh, I so wish I didn’t have the car with me today. Now you understand why I want September to be the driest month in history. That’s the Old Town done. Now for the New Town, at the top of the hill. It’s too far and too steep to walk, so the organisers have kindly arranged transport: an old Routemaster bus, running every 15 minutes. Hop on the back, ding the bell, and it will ferry you up and down the hill all day long.

As it happened, the day basked in the sun. A real September scorcher. It certainly brought the crowds out. I’ve never seen so many visitors admiring the cars and machinery. Amersham is the last stop on the London Underground’s Metropolitan line. The station houses a couple of steam locomotives for those not interested in classic cars.

The kids think they’re in a remake of Harry Potter’s Platform 9¾, and when the whistle blows, their faces are a picture. Outside, it’s called New Town for a reason: modern day-to-day shops, overpriced coffee and barbers. A stark contrast to down the way. Ding ding. Get me back down the hill.

Right. We’ve covered the venue.

Let’s get to the cars. Today I was joined by fellow Rascals Wingnut and Colin. Max and Stuart met us there. We pulled in and parked up by 09:40. Three abreast, with Stuart in front and Max across the road in the shade, the lucky sod. Sadly, by 10:30 cars were being turned away, and we had to park in the public car park instead.

Time for a few snaps and something interesting. It didn’t take me long to find a real treasure: a 1953 Alvis TA 21 Drophead Coupé. Only 303 of these were built, and only about half have survived, which makes it even more precious. Under the centrally hinged, double-sided bonnet sits an in-line six-cylinder 3-litre engine, overhead valves and twin SU carburettors, paired with a synchromesh 5-speed gearbox. (Synchromesh was invented by Alvis.) It’s good for nearly 100 mph, which was very good in 1953. All-round drum brakes bring it back to zero. Eventually.

Tickford built the coachwork; it originated as Salmons and Sons in 1820 and was renamed Tickford Ltd in 1943 when the founding family retired. They became renowned for fine coachwork on high-end cars, including Daimler, Humber and MG. A beautiful eagle in flight sits upon the large chrome grille, used on the performance models.

Also getting lots of attention was this 1958 C1 dual-headlight Corvette in stunning red-and-white livery. A federal law change in 1957 meant smaller twin headlights could now be used instead of the older-style standard 7-inch lights. Another interesting fact is the quality-control issue that started in 1953, when Corvettes first rolled off the assembly line. The fibreglass shells leaked so much in the rain that Chevrolet had engineers spray them with garden hoses before releasing them for shipment. Fibreglass was used because steel was tightly rationed due to the Korean War. This one would make my wish list for sure.

Speaking of fibreglass, I found a Bond Bug, a wedge-shaped three-wheeled car built in Britain from 1970 to 1974. Powered by a 700cc engine, later growing to 750cc, the brave could reach 76 mph. Because of its light weight and missing wheel, you could drive one on a motorcycle licence. Fewer than 2,500 were made before production ended.

Max had the great incentive to nip off early and find a pub, booking us in for Sunday roast before the crowds took over. At one o’clock we headed to the Elephant and Castle for lunch. It was a lovely break from the sun and the patrons. Fed and watered, we all headed back to the cars, put up a few seats and answered any questions that arose. Mostly: how many dead bodies will fit in the Edsel? And where the hell do you park something that’s 6 metres long?

So another show comes to an end, and our luck with the weather must surely end too. The day was a real success. I’ve never seen so many people admiring the show cars. I’m delighted, and I know every single one of them had a great time too.

But let's not leave without paying homage to steam!

It's a Burrell traction engine. The cast plate on the front of the smokebox reads "The Burrell Traction Engine", which was the standard maker's badge of Charles Burrell & Sons of Thetford, Norfolk. Burrell built steam engines from the 1840s until the works closed in 1928, and they had a reputation as one of the finest of the British builders, particularly for their showman's engines. The example is the plainer working type rather than a showman's engine: no canopy, no dynamo bracket on the smokebox, no brass twisted columns. It's a general-purpose agricultural engine of the kind that hauled threshing tackle from farm to farm, drove machinery from the belt on its flywheel, and did the odd bit of road haulage.

Some things worth noticing. The big spoked wheel on the side is the flywheel, and the shield-shaped brass plate on the cylinder block just below the chimney is where the works number and date would be stamped, though it's too small to read here. The livery is the classic Burrell maroon with black and yellow lining, which is how most restored ones are turned out. The polished brass cap on the chimney and the spark arrester on top are typical of a well-kept rally engine. The chains and the wooden chock under the rear wheel are the rally-goer's parking brake.

The registration RL 574 is a useful clue. RL was a Cornwall registration mark, and road registration of traction engines only started in the early 1920s, so the plate suggests the engine spent its working life in Cornwall, though that doesn't necessarily mean it was built then; plenty of older engines got registered when the rules came in. I searched for that particular registration but couldn't turn up a record of its works number or build date, so I can't tell you the exact year.

And the setting is rather lovely: that's The Swan pub in the background, with a Georgian brick street and a line of classic cars.

Another spectacular day with the Rascals.

Philip (The Rascal)

Editor

Sources for steam engine: Charles Burrell & Sons — Wikipedia, Burrell Traction Engine — National Museums Liverpool