Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally 2024

Posted by Chris Graham on 12th August 2024

John Webber reports on the interesting range of stationary engines that he spotted at this year’s Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally.

Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally: This Blackstone portable was one of four engines exhibited by Charlie Deane.

I have been an exhibitor at the Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rallies since 2007 (with the exception of the Covid 19 years), but this year I decided to visit the show as a spectator; so a flight was booked from Heathrow to Cork.

This 15hp Ruston & Hornsby was recovered from a creamery in Tipperary.

The rally field is located a mile outside the charming village of Innishannon, Co Cork, Ireland. Some 67 stationary engines were booked in for this fabulous event held in aid of the ‘Irish Cancer Society’ on 2nd and 3rd June.

This neat little Alamo engine was brought over from Herefordshire UK by Ian Crum.

Charlie Deane had five engines on show, a Blackstone portable, s/n 87579, sold by Wargent & Son, Canon, Frome, Stoke Edith; an Emerson & Brantingham s/n 8503; a large 5hp Stickney dated circa 1911-1913. His other engines included a 1 ½ hp New Holland s/n 3515, and a Blackstone with an expected blown cylinder-head gasket.

Here we see a 6hp Lister CS diesel driving a Maynards barn thresher.

Billy and Kay Spring from Milltown, Co Kerry, brought along two engines, a Stuart Turner R3M boat engine and a Norman T300. This engine rated at 2 ¾ hp has a build date of 5th May 1948; it was found in West Kerry in 1984 and restored the following year.

This well-presented Hartop model M was exhibited by Trevor Cooke.

Ian Crum from Herefordshire, UK, had a very neat American-built Alamo type A dating from 1916. Other American-built engines included a 2hp Root & Vandervoort, s/n BL11313, exhibited by Seamus Barry of Co Tipperary. The engine’s brass plate indicated that it had been manufactured for the Deere & Webber Company of Minneapolis, USA.

We do not see many late Fairbanks, Morse & Co Z type engines, this example could be a style B, rated at 7½hp.

A Maynards sifting chaff-cutter driven by a 6hp Lister CS diesel was enjoyable to watch in action (owner’s detail not recorded). A nice Hartop model M, s/n 8127, dating from 1927 was exhibited by Trevor Cook from Omagh, while John Barrett from Cork was showing an equally nice Fairbanks, Morse & Co Z, style B of 7½hp.

The Emerson & Brantingham also owned by Charlie Deane.

Dan Ryan was showing a 15hp Ruston & Hornsby of 1936 vintage that he had recovered from a creamery in Tipperary. Tom Crowley from Blarney had his 1939 Ruston & Hornsby 6hp twin-cylinder diesel, s/n 194643, driving a small threshing machine. A large Crossley Brothers type S122, s/n 82480, had unfortunately very little history although the operator thought that it dated from circa 1900, and that it had come from a cattle feed mill in Skibbereen, West Cork.

This large Crossley Brothers type S122 dates from c1900.

There were also numerous preservation exhibits of all categories plus trade stalls selling autojumble items, rusty iron and bygones of every description.

The Norman T300 charging set owned by Billy and Kay Spring.

I have mentioned only a few of the wonderful engines on display, sorry if your engine(s) has not been included.

This 1½hp New Holland dates from 1908.

All too soon our visit was over and we boarded out flight back to the UK. Thank you to all involved with the Innishnnon Steam & Vintage Rally; long may it continue.

This feature comes from the latest issue of Stationary Engine, and you can find out more about the magazine simply by clicking HERE