After 3 years at Seaburn. The festival of transport now moves to a new location
The new location is now at Durham County Hall and will be held on the 20th & 21st of August
So it clashes with Shildon on the 21st now?
To be honest it's not a bad venue and is a good size, but likely the only year it'll be there, due to the impending closure of Durham County Hall. I'd also be surprised if DCC allow overnight stays, as has happened at Seaburn in the past, as the site is locked up on an evening. That makes it a bigger ask for owners to attend both days.
This seems to add to an already excessive August. Now you have Whitley Bay on the 14th, this on the 20th/21st, Shildon on the 21st, and Seaburn on the 29th. Too big an ask imo for preserved vehicle owners (or even commercial operators) to attend even half of those dates.
(01 Apr 2022, 11:34 pm)Train8261 wrote [ -> ]After 3 years at Seaburn. The festival of transport now moves to a new location
The new location is now at Durham County Hall and will be held on the 20th & 21st of August
I'm sure there's been something of this name at County Hall in previous years - maybe just pre Covid?
I'm not complaining
It's just round the corner!
They've had vintage bikes and cars at county hall, before.
It does seem rather short sighted to have two competing events on 21 August. It would be prudent for different preservationist groups to work together.
Charles
Well it's a dead loss today. Just a handful of cars and nothing else.
Was just about to ask if anyone had been to this, or indeed if it was happening... seen nothing on social media etc promoting it at all. Saves me a trip!
Wasn't aware it was even happening tbh, won't help that Aycliffe & District Bus Preservation are also holding events on both days of this weekend (at their base today and Shildon Locomotion rally tomorrow).
There weren't even any flyers up, nearby, so I doubt anyone knew about it. Husband saw about 10 cars there just before 10am on his way into town and when he came back again, an hour later, some had left.
(20 Aug 2022, 3:28 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]There weren't even any flyers up, nearby, so I doubt anyone knew about it. Husband saw about 10 cars there just before 10am on his way into town and when he came back again, an hour later, some had left.
Sounds like an organising masterclass once again.
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I'd completely forgot about this event. There does not seem to have been much publicity. Apparently it's supposed to be on tomorrow as well.
Charles
(20 Aug 2022, 5:48 pm)Charles41 wrote [ -> ]I'd completely forgot about this event. There does not seem to have been much publicity. Apparently it's supposed to be on tomorrow as well.
Charles
The forecast for tomorrow is a little better so, if there had been any publicity other than what was on a couple of vehicle club Facebook pages, there would be a better turn out.
Very few people happen to be walking past county hall, though, especially on a Sunday, so it's going to remain a big secret and they will all be scratching their heads, wondering why they bothered.
Did anyone go to this today and did any vehicles actually turn up?
Sounds like the Festival of Transport has gone from being a bus in a field to just an empty car park.
Charles
(21 Aug 2022, 2:16 pm)Charles41 wrote [ -> ]Did anyone go to this today and did any vehicles actually turn up?
Sounds like the Festival of Transport has gone from being a bus in a field to just an empty car park.
Charles
We passed it today and there were a couple of dozen cars, there (it's local to us, so no special journey involved)
Even if I was looking for cars, specifically, I would have been disappointed if I had made a journey, specially. The gathering we happened upon in Darlo market place (and not of the local drunks, though they were there, too), a few weeks ago, was far better attended.
I think the trend of parking up in a paid-for field or car park to show off your vehicle to the public is dying off.
Personally, the atmosphere is always better down at car meets in a Tesco car park. I'd imagine that those who own buses like to do things in their own little groups too.
Would be much better for everyone if the councils and police stopped taking a hard approach on "unauthorised" meets and just let them get on with it. Then maybe the need to attend fields and car parks nowhere near anybody will also die off.
(22 Aug 2022, 5:50 am)omnicity4659 wrote [ -> ]I think the trend of parking up in a paid-for field or car park to show off your vehicle to the public is dying off.
Personally, the atmosphere is always better down at car meets in a Tesco car park. I'd imagine that those who own buses like to do things in their own little groups too.
Would be much better for everyone if the councils and police stopped taking a hard approach on "unauthorised" meets and just let them get on with it. Then maybe the need to attend fields and car parks nowhere near anybody will also die off.
Whenever I've seen pics/notice of these rallies/events with cars it's often just stuff from an older generation and I can't imagine most of these events held would want relatively modern kit with massive exhausts and the like that those unauthorised car meets tend to attract.
Much like with bus rallies there's somewhat of a generational gap, you hear some going around saying how stuff is too modern (or x company has brought their current fleet) and that it shouldn't be in preservation, sent to scrap etc whilst younger spotters tend to lean towards more like Dennis Dart's and are less interested in say half cabs.
(22 Aug 2022, 9:39 am)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Whenever I've seen pics/notice of these rallies/events with cars it's often just stuff from an older generation and I can't imagine most of these events held would want relatively modern kit with massive exhausts and the like that those unauthorised car meets tend to attract.
Much like with bus rallies there's somewhat of a generational gap, you hear some going around saying how stuff is too modern (or x company has brought their current fleet) and that it shouldn't be in preservation, sent to scrap etc whilst younger spotters tend to lean towards more like Dennis Dart's and are less interested in say half cabs.
The thing that puts me off the rallies (other than the sheer embarrassment of being seen there) is that I personally do not really like older buses at all, so there's nothing to see! Plus, it seems to be the same buses that turn up at everything, and once you've seen them, why would you go back?
Plus, even if I was into the older vehicles, I'd much rather see buses that have been modified for different uses than just see yet another bus that has been 'preserved'. Quite frankly, it's boring.
When StreetDecks become cheap and I inevitably buy one on Ebay in the middle of the night after one too many lemonades, it will be completely gutted and converted into a camper.
Having said that, I absolutely cannot stand overly modified cars, but then again I'm not a big fan of restored classics either. Plus, I do have a very eclectic taste in cars that probably wouldn't be catered for at those type of events, the latest addition to my shopping list is a Kei truck (not really a car), there's one parked outside of the Weardale depot in Crook that's used for advertising, and I just want it, I probably wouldn't fit in it, but I want it! A few other cars from the list include the Renault Avantime, Peugeot 1007, G-Wiz, VW Touareg W12/V10 TDI
As a side note, when I was quite a bit younger, a family friend had a bus and we would tag along to the events (mostly for the free stuff, I have so much Arriva crap sitting in a cupboard), and I must say I had some pretty awful experiences that really put me off. In fact, that's probably why I have fairly negative views on the "stereotypical bus spotter"
(22 Aug 2022, 5:50 am)omnicity4659 wrote [ -> ]I think the trend of parking up in a paid-for field or car park to show off your vehicle to the public is dying off.
Personally, the atmosphere is always better down at car meets in a Tesco car park. I'd imagine that those who own buses like to do things in their own little groups too.
Would be much better for everyone if the councils and police stopped taking a hard approach on "unauthorised" meets and just let them get on with it. Then maybe the need to attend fields and car parks nowhere near anybody will also die off.
The Police don't take a hard approach on unauthorised meets. It's the small minority of idiots that attend, the ones that think they're clever tooling it around a car park with no real control over their car, or the ones popping their (usually road illegal) exhausts, that they take a hard approach on.
I don't think car or other vehicle meets are dying off. They seem to be thriving outside of the North East, and there's no reason they wouldn't thrive here either, if they were well organised.
Whitley Bay bus rally had the best attendance the other weekend, than it had seen for years previous to that. I'd suggest it was more down to the weather, but I think it shows the appetite is still there from people to attend such events.
(22 Aug 2022, 9:39 am)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Whenever I've seen pics/notice of these rallies/events with cars it's often just stuff from an older generation and I can't imagine most of these events held would want relatively modern kit with massive exhausts and the like that those unauthorised car meets tend to attract.
Much like with bus rallies there's somewhat of a generational gap, you hear some going around saying how stuff is too modern (or x company has brought their current fleet) and that it shouldn't be in preservation, sent to scrap etc whilst younger spotters tend to lean towards more like Dennis Dart's and are less interested in say half cabs.
The generational gap has always been there, but as people have grown up, they've supported the problem instead of bridging the gap. But on events themselves, I can't see why you'd even bother to have one, if you're not going to organise it properly? Or if you haven't got the skills to do so, seek some volunteers.
The Durham Fathers day rally might not be the biggest event in the area but it's always well attended by families and not just socially awkard guys with big cameras (not that I have anything against socially awkward guys, whatever their camera, or I'd be disowning my entire family) so there is an appetite for this type of event, so long as people know about it.
(22 Aug 2022, 11:08 am)Adrian wrote [ -> ]The Police don't take a hard approach on unauthorised meets. It's the small minority of idiots that attend, the ones that think they're clever tooling it around a car park with no real control over their car, or the ones popping their (usually road illegal) exhausts, that they take a hard approach on.
Groups of (presumably) youths gather at the McDonalds just round the corner from me and you can hear them on a night in the car park revving their engines. I wouldn't be so bothered about them if they had cars that sound decent, but instead they're in Corsas with exhausts that sounds like someone's farted into a cone! The issue is there's just not really any cars that sound good anymore!
I'm the same with the people that have their windows down and the music blasting, 9/10 their speakers are shite and it's all distorted.
(22 Aug 2022, 12:44 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]The Durham Fathers day rally might not be the biggest event in the area but it's always well attended by families and not just socially awkard guys with big cameras (not that I have anything against socially awkward guys, whatever their camera, or I'd be disowning my entire family) so there is an appetite for this type of event, so long as people know about it.
I really like photography (not buses, because I have friends
), but I just can't walk around outside with a camera, I feel like such a tit. Even getting my phone out to take a photo is too much
