Vintage Truck, Machinery & Steam Show

2016 Vintage Truck & Machinery Show
Following the huge success of the combined vintage truck and machinery show held at Armidale in 2014 the plan to hold a similar show every two years remains on track. This year the event will be hosted by the New England Heritage Traction Club and held on the last weekend of October at the new venue of Glen Innes Showgrounds.

Climbing the New England (Route 15)
The theme of the vintage truck show is to celebrate and re-live the history of commercial traffic through the high country of the New England region. The New England Highway was at one time the principal northern inter-state route and many tales are told of the challenges met and overcome. It is expected that trucks from the 1920s to the 30 year age cut off will be tracing the route of their forebears from as far as Sydney and Brisbane to meet up at Glen Innes for the truck show.

New England Heritage Traction Club Inc
Out of the enthusiasm exhibited at the 2014 Armidale show a group of old truck restorers got together to form a club to cater for their passion. As the name suggests the New England Heritage Traction Club Inc (NEHTC) caters for enthusiasts across the New England region of northern NSW. With the motto heritage power at work steam and other plant is also an interest which is promoted and catered for. The club has approval from NSW Roads & Maritime Services (RMS) for historic conditional registration of members vehicles and to ensure that heavy vehicles have appropriate representation to RMS the club is affiliated to the umbrella historic motoring organisation The Southern Motoring Association. The club also has affiliation with the National Historic Machinery Association (NHMA) which provides members with insurance related to heritage activities.

The Venue
This year the event is to be held at the heritage listed Glen Innes Showgrounds which ticks all the boxes for a great show with atmosphere in spades. The welcome provided by the Showground Trust was too good to ignore. The showgrounds are located just off the highway and a 2 minute drive to the CBD and a wide selection of motels. Patrons to the show will have free parking in the showgrounds.
All exhibits will be displayed either under cover or on all weather surface while swappers will have a choice of being in the open or under cover. The grand parades around the tree lined show ring can be viewed either from the comfort of the grandstand or up close from seating at the rings edge.

Machinery
A wide range of machinery will be on show including stationary engines, portable steam engines, traction engines, and heritage farm machinery. A tractor pull is planned which tests not only the comparable strength of the old tractors on show but the skill of the drivers in getting the best out of their machine.

Exhibitors
Exhibitors of trucks 30 years or older, tractors, and machinery are invited to book their entry in advance but will still be able to register on the day. Entry for exhibitors is free. Pre-booking puts trucks at the front of the queue for a spot under cover (max height 3.2m) and free recovery service by our sponsor Glen Innes 24hour Diesel. Exhibitors who have pre-registered will be mailed an exhibitor package containing; exhibit window numbers; souvenir exhibit guide; site map, route description and notes, and suggested meeting points along the highway.

Swappers & trade
Traders are offered space around the show at locations to suit their enterprise and will have access to electricity. Swappers are located in the wood chop arena or in the adjacent cattle pavilion at no additional charge. The upside of the cattle pavilion for swappers is that it is all-weather, the downside being that after unloading their vehicles will have to be left outside. For rates see the registration forms below, however these are negotiable depending on specific needs.

Set up
The show organisers will be on site for preliminary set up on Thursday and exhibitors and swappers will have access for set up from 8.30am on Friday until midday the following Monday. All exhibitors are to enter by Hunter Street and to wait for instructions to their allocated space.
The club is able to offer secure local storage and transport for exhibitors who wish to bring their exhibits up to several weeks early, with a similar arrangement for their return.

Unloading
A loading dock is available and caters for all heights. A 3.5 tonne forklift and hiab crane will be on site before and after the show to assist exhibitors unload and place their machinery safely. A higher capacity crane can be made available for special lifts.
Modern trucks and semi trailers which are not historic exhibits will be directed to parking space near the loading ramp.

IPEC Re-Union
The IPEC company was a pioneer of interstate overnight parcel services which we take for granted nowadays. It was not possible for a driver to do the Sydney Brisbane journey in one shift and so the procedure of changing drivers was used. A change over house was set up in the middle of Glen Innes (current location of the tourist centre) in 1970 and in 1974 a purpose built facility was built on the southern edge of town where the quarters could accommodate up to twenty drivers. The facility was closed in 1994 and although a bus shed has been erected and the quarters have recently been demolished the site remains largely as it was in its heyday. Under the theme of Climbing the New England a number of the erstwhile IPEC overnighters will be visiting the site as a focus for a re-union. If anyone knows of the location of surviving IPEC trucks from this era we would love to hear about it.

Organised run
We will be organising a run for vintage trucks on Friday afternoon and again on Saturday morning before the show opens to the public. Details to be advised nearer the time.


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