Full steam tad!
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rris May, as committees across the country hold crisis meetings to finalise plans for local millennium celebrations, one group of enthusiasts pay their respects to the end of the old century; rather than celebrating the new.
The Sentinels Drivers Club plans a John O'Groats to Land's End run starting on 10 May. "The idea for the run in 1999 is to celebrate a British steam engine company and to celebrate the end of the century in which the company started," says Malcolm Rogers, the SDC member charged with media and corporate sponsorship for the run, and also a hopeful eventer himself with his Super Sentinel (see box below).
The 14 Sentinels-11 steamers and three diesels—are due to leave John 0' Groats at dawn on 10 May, travelling between 75 and 120 miles a day and taking every third or fourth day off to give crews a chance to to rest and fettle their wagons.
Each steamer needs a driver and fireman who will have to shovel around four tonnes of coal to complete the 925-mile journey. They hope to cross the Tamar on 20 May and reach Land's End some time the next day. The oldest entrant should be a 1916 Standard model, known as The Old Man, which cruises at a steady 12mph. Some of the more sprightly S types can touch 55mph, so they won't all travel in convoy.
The club was founded in 1987 and now has 120 members. "We realised there were a.,of people interested in Sentinels out there but they had no contact with each other," says SDC chairman Mick Tuxworth.
While the club's main aim is to have fun it also provides a self-help network for the restoration and upkeep of these British classics. "We can help cut duplication of parts with regard to castings," says Tuxworth.
Rogers reveals that the run was Tuxworth's idea, but he didn't find any lack of enthusiasm among members, despite the inevitably high cost of running a veteran HGV the length of Britain. Entrants are seeking sponsorship to help cover their running costs simply moving the vehicles to the starting point via low loader costs almost £3,000.
Sponsors will be advertised on boards on the side of each wagon; as the SDC is a non-profit making club any profits will be donated to charity Discussions are underway with a television producer to produce a documentary on the run, so if you can't get to the nearest point on the route you should be able to see it on television from the comfort of your armchair so l )11 after.