Jessie The Jeep

The next and rather impressive memorial was at Shotton Colliery. This is the one I had passed by the previous week. In addition to the soldier on the plinth, there was a nicely kept memorial garden, benches and shelter.

Remembrance Day Memorial Tour - November 11th About a week before the 11th, I passed through part of a village I don't normally travel through and spotted a rather nice war memorial. This set me off planning my 2023 memorials tour. The whole trip was a little over 19 miles and took about two hours. After a few problems getting the Jeep started, I think due to failing batteries, I headed off to my first stop. Shortly before getting there, I made a quick stop to fit the flag and grab a couple of photos in the sunshine, then on to the first memorial where I planned to keep the two minutes silence at 11am. The first memorial was at Littletown, a small and simple engraved stone, dedicated mostly to those from the village lost during World War 1. One name, Thomas Hopper, dates from World War 2. After the two minutes silence, I set off for the next stop.

September 29th - Dodge Rear Canvas I got a second hand rear canvas for the Dodge earlier in the season. It is meant to be attached to the bow by a spiral of rope, wrapped around the top of the bow. On a normal Dodge, having it permanently fitted isn't a problem. On mine, having the crane fitted and having to dismantle the roof bows to get it in the garage, makes the standard way of attachment a problem. So far this year, I only fitted it if it looked like it was going to rain overnight. I wanted a quicker way of attaching it than threading the rope around the bows and through all the canvas eyelets. The wires that support the crane usually hang a little way below the bow, stopping the canvas from rolling down from the top as on a standard Dodge. When the tailgate is closed, that will support the crane, so the lifting cables can be given a bit of slack. A small chain was added to the bow, to hold the cables up out of the way of the canvas, allowing it to hang below. So after a bit of messing around with ideas, I came up with a new way of attaching the canvas. Small lengths of rope were cut and fed through pairs of eyelets in the canvas, knotted on the outside. They now hook over small dowels on the inside of the bow, without any need for being tied or wrapped around the bow. It is a quick job to unfasten the sides and unhook the ropes from the dowels to remove it. If I need to see out the back to move the truck while at a show, I can just unhook the tops and the whole canvas can drop down to the truck bed, without removing the side ropes. Longer lengths of rope are attached to each side, which do wrap around the sides of the bow to pull it out at the edges. It is now a quick job to fit or remove and the crane lifting wires don't cause a problem. It's quite thin material and could do with painting in a waterproof fabric seal like Nikwax to help keep the rain out.

Photos for both days were a combination of DSLR and phone images. High shots of the vehicles were taken on my phone on a selfie stick, using the timer on the shutter release. HMS Trincomalee was the backdrop for this first 1940s event held by the museum. The Trincomalee is one of two surviving British Leda-class sailing frigate, built shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Work on the Trincomalee began in May 1816 and was launched on 12 October 1817. Trincomalee holds the distinction of being the oldest British warship still afloat, as although HMS Victory is 52 years older, the Victory is displayed in dry dock. This appears to be our last event of the year, ending the season at Hartlepool, very close to Heugh Battery, where we started the 2023 season. More pictures here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/royalnavy.htm

National Museum of the Royal Navy ( Hartlepool ) - Sept 30th/Oct 1st While I took the Dodge on day one, it was Jessie out for the second day, parking up with Andy again. Several other vehicles were there for the second day that weren't there on day one. Most of the re-enactor displays were the same, although a couple had gone, to be replaced by the Seatones singers. It was mostly sunny today and quite a bit warmer than Saturday.

The Royal Navy Bomb Disposal display, demonstrated disarming a parachute mine during the show and the Wizz Bangs gave a talk and firing display of various weapons once each day. Another Jeepwas parked near us, with another two in the Wizz Bangs display. The rain held off until mid afternoon, so I got wet on the trip home and while packing the Dodge away into the garage. This appears to be our last event of the year, ending the season at Hartlepool, very close to Heugh Battery, where we started the 2023 season. More pictures here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/royalnavy.htm

A number of the usual local groups were set up around the historic quay with HMS Trincomalee as the backdrop. This was the first 1940s event held by the museum. The Trincomalee is one of two surviving British Leda-class sailing frigate, built shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Work on the Trincomalee began in May 1816 and was launched on 12 October 1817. Trincomalee holds the distinction of being the oldest British warship still afloat, as although HMS Victory is 52 years older, the Victory is displayed in dry dock.

National Museum of the Royal Navy ( Hartlepool ) - Sept 30th/Oct 1st The show at the National Museum of the Royal Navy is likely to be my last public show of 2023. While only 16 miles from home, I didn't want to spend a fortune on fuel at the end of the season, so decided to take the Dodge the first day and the Jeep the second. I took the Dodge on the first day because of possible rain during the afternoon, so that I had some cover to hide in. Andy was there with his Jeep, so we set up a maintenance diorama with the Dodge and his Jeep.

The odd thing is, he said it didn't make the noise before the clutch was changed.

Colin was having some starting problems with his Austin. He was one of the singers, performing at East Tanfield station, so Andy took him down in his Jeep while the rest of us tinkered with the engine. After much fiddling and giving the battery a full charge, we got it running again by the time he finished singing. It was another wet drive on the way home, but had stopped by the time we got back, so were able to pack away without getting wet. It was another very tiring, but enjoyable green weekend. It was my tenth and penultimate event for the 2023 season, 'though the vehicles have made an equal number of non-show outings. More pictures here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/tanfield.htm

Saturday night was blowing itself inside out, with gales of 40+mph forecast. I didn't sleep much due to the noise of the wind and tent rattling. Sunday was dry until early afternoon, so we were able to get the tent down dry. Most of the camping gear was packed into the trailer, so we didn't need to dismantle the display until later in the afternoon. A band was playing in the carriage shed, while singers performed at Andrews House and East Tanfield stations. As the weather front got closer, the crates were packed in the Dodge and the tent into the back of the Jeep.

Our display peaked at five vehicles on Saturday. Late in the day, three of us made the three mile trip down the road to East Tanfield Station for coffee. Last year, there were a number of normal cars along the fence, but it was mostly empty this year, allowing me to get some pictures of the Jeep with 0-6-0 tank "Horden" along side.

There weren't too many vehicles and displays this year. I think the weather forecast and another clashing '40s event reduced numbers attending. The Field Kitchen and NAAFI were there, along with the "Hand Me Down Gang", Home Guard and a couple of other groups with a Jeeps and weapons on show. I set up the Jeep and Dodge with the Jeep undergoing maintenance under the Dodge crane, with tools set out on make shift tables made from ammo and ration crate boxes.

Tanfield Railway 1940s Weekend - September 23rd/24th We went to Tanfield in the normal car on Friday morning to get the tent set up. It was forecast for heavy rain in the late afternoon. Sure enough, not long after we set off in the Dodge and Jeep, the rain started hammering down. With the sleeping bags in the top of the trailer, I was hoping the canvas was still waterproof! When we got there, everything was thrown through the tent door as fast as possible. Saturday started with a little drizzle, but it got out dry with some bright spells across the day. The locos were already steamed up by breakfast and starting to assemble the trains for the day. Two locos were running for the weekend; Sir Cecil Cochrane and Horden.

There's a gateway near the top that was big enough to pull off the road for some additional pictures, out over the landscape below us. After coming back down the other side of the hill, Andy turned South and headed home while I went North back home, via sunset lane for a few more pictures of my Jeep on its own.

After giving up on the noise location, I got my Jeep out and we went for a short drive. We headed South a few miles, to the hill climb by Old Cassop for some pictures. We stopped at the bottom briefly while I tightened my roof bows, then headed up the narrow road.

Old Cassop Test Drive and Hill Climb - September 17th Andy brought his Jeep over to investigate an odd noise underneath. It only happens briefly when decelerating and creates a noise that sounds like something metal catching something rotating, giving a brief buzzing noise. We thought we'd found it when we found the handbrake cable being very close to the front prop shaft, but after pulling it further away with some cable ties, the noise remained. Several other possible sources of vibration were looked at, but nothing stopped the brief noise. I'm wondering if there's a slight imbalance in one of the prop shafts, that resonates at certain RPMs when not under load from the engine. After each time we thought we'd found the problem, we went for a short drive to check. I even sat at different places in the Jeep, trying to establish where the sound was coming from.

Beamish "Dig for Victory" - August 28th~September 3rd I've written a longer account of the show on my Dodge thread ( see link immediately below ), however, many more pictures can be found on my vehicle website event gallery pages. See the links at the bottom for the five days we were there. Set Up https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_1.htm Thursday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_2.htm Friday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_3.htm Saturday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_4.htm Sunday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_5.htm

I took the Dodge out with a friend for another lap later in the afternoon, stopping at the colliery and coffee corner for a while. Derek, Andy and Lynne joined me with the Jeeps for one last trip around the site late in the afternoon, before we finished packing up. In the background is the new 1950s town. One street is complete and the framework of the cinema can be seen behind the terraces. We finally had everything packed up and were ready to roll by 7:30pm, the last of the "Hedgehog Heroes" off the site. We arrived home at 8:10pm as the sun was setting, but it was another couple of hours before everything was unloaded and the vehicles and trailers were away. We were all very tired, but it had been a great five days. Many more pictures can be found on my vehicle event gallery pages..... Set Up https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_1.htm Thursday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_2.htm Friday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_3.htm Saturday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_4.htm Sunday https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2023/beamish_5.htm Our next event is the Tanfield Railway 1940s show in a couple of weeks.

My daughter was in a different dress on Sunday, so we took a few more photos here. On Saturday, I missed out on a morning sausage roll from the bakery, as they'd sold out, but on Sunday, we managed to get some still hot from the oven. By early afternoon, we were back at camp for some more photos and to pack a few more thngs. We couldn't bring the car and flatbed trailer in to the show field until after 4pm, so we weren't in a major hurry to drop the tents. Lynne and my daughter then went to have a look at the 1940s and 1950s farm and I finished off my look around the dioramas and re-enactor displays. This year, there were displays spread all over the second show field and it must have been the largest show yet.

Beamish "Dig for Victory" Day 4 - Sunday September 3rd The Moon was setting over my camp as we began the last day at Beamish. We set off for the colliery, wanting to get the most out of the day before we had to start packing up the camp. By this time, we'd already packed much of the bedding into the Jeep trailer out of the way, before it got too hot. We spent some time there, with others from our group coming and going, along with other vehicles. By late morning, we'd moved on to coffee corner. Last year, we had coffee corner to ourselves, but this year, other vehicle owners have caught on to its strategic position near the bakery, cafe and toilets. A few times, we had to drive on by because the spot was occupied.

On Saturday evening, the museum provided a meal for all the re-enactors and vehicle owners and opened up the Sun Inn pub for everyone. After the meal, many gathered at the seating around the band stand. During public hours, re-enactors and vehicle owners aren't allowed to drink or enter the pub. This was our last evening around the log burner, as we'd all be packing up on Sunday evening.

Back to camp for a late lunch, in time to see Derek try his barber skills on Andy with some mechanical hair clippers. A member of the public even volunteered to have his hair cut! It was then time for the main afternoon convoy. It can be seen here on the gentle climb up to the 1940s farm junction and the drop down to the pit village. After we completed the convoy, we drove out of the Beamish staff gate and up the public road to the 1940s farm. Neil and Derek were already there. There is an internal road to the farm, but it is quite steep and only suitable for Jeeps. Using the main road was a safer drive, avoiding all the public walking up the internal farm road. A brass band was playing in the main barn with a small dance floor and seating. After the farm visit, we returned to the colliery and I did a small photoshoot with my daughter and the Dodge.

Beamish "Dig for Victory" Day 3 - Saturday September 2nd Despite starting out cloudy, it was hot by 9am on Saturday. We began as usual, with a convoy around the site, doing one complete lap before dropping down to the colliery yard. Here's six of the seven of our vehicles that attended the show. It would have been nice to have more, but there are practical limits. For a change of display, I opened the Jeep hood and set the Dodge crane over the top of the Jeep engine. I then got a crate and tool roll out as if I was starting an engine change. There were a couple of other Dodges near by and Paul was there with his Jeep. It wasn't too long before a convoy of heavy stuff came down and the yard began to fill up. Soon after that, Andy turned up. Andy only got his Jeep in October last year, so this was his first Beamish in his own Jeep. For the previous two years, he's driven my Jeep around when Lynne was exploring elsewhere. After that, it was off to coffee corner for morning snacks and to watch more convoys go by.

When a Corbitt and Dodge get friendly, they make a baby Jeep! It really is a monster, with the tyres being taller than the Dodge fenders. I think my daughter needed oxygen after climbing into the cab. Our group went back out for a ride around that evening. Neil had some running problems and discovered a small plug in the carburettor was missing. Fortunately Paul had a carb kit with him, having bought it for just one screw! The day ended around the fire again.