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Next morning we were up and about early, to get up to the showground in good time. We had a longish day ahead of us and I wanted to get more pictures taken as soon as the sun got high enough in the sky. With fewer people about and finer weather, we had a lot of time to walk around the various exhibits and talk to the owners.
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One of the featured manufacturers this year was Caterpillar, so a large contingent of tracked vehicles were brought along, including the ancestors of the Caterpillar company, Holt & Best. The quality of the machinery restoration was very good indeed, some surpassing many car restorations that we have seen. Watching the starting of the Caterpillar diesels brought back memories of my days at Gatwick Airport when I looked after a Cat-powered ground power unit for things like DC6B aircraft etc.
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We split up with the girls, Tim & I went off to do some photography and look at the engines, while Rita & Sally went to look at the stalls etc. We found plenty to look at, and we also had time to talk with a few owners about their engines and machinery, including the Caterpillar guys. Tim was happy to wander around with me as he is an old car enthusiast and the mechanical interest he has covers engines as well.
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A good number of engines were running as we walked around, probably about the same as the UK. It was still early on and we expected more to come alive as the morning warmed up and people got out into the much improved weather, which buy now was strong sunshine. A few of the engines inside the enclosure by the Dairy Center were a bit difficult to picture due to the strong sunlight, but we managed to get decent shots of most things without too much trouble.