‘Petrol heads’ pull together for Scouthead and Austerlands Motor Show

WHAT DO a Cadillac, an army tank, and the world’s only steam-powered Land Rover have in common?

As it happens, not much – but that did not stop them from parking together on a field in Scouthead.

This year’s Scouthead and Austerlands Motor Show was another huge hit.

150 cars, motorbikes, tractors, and other vehicles stood proudly on display across Dawson’s Field, painstakingly put together for the Scouthead and Austerlands Community Group Motor Show.

Now on its second year, the number of entries had more than doubled since its launch last summer. The charity event – which this year raised money for Oldham MRT and Guide Dogs for the Blind – featured vehicles from the 1920s to the present day.

Unusually for a traditional motor show, there were no official categories to be seen. According to organiser Paul Sykes: “Is it your pride and joy? Bring it in.

“Every motor show is different, and a lot of people like this one because it’s not rigid,” he continued. “That’s why we’ve got such a diverse range of vehicles.

“The first one last year took us five weeks. We’ve had this one in our heads for 12 months – it took about three months to put together.

“We’ve got a good team of people around us, but we’re all petrol heads, you know. We don’t have a committee, we don’t have a chair, we’re just like-minded guys.”

It was an event that drew in hundreds from the region’s motor-appreciating community – though it was the ragtag team of engineers in the corner who proved the most eclectic of the bunch.

More than 150 vehicles were on display at Dawson’s Field.

“I want to do things nobody else has done,” said Oldham Athletic owner Frank Rothwell OBE. “It’s a bit of a passion project.”

A Guinness World Record holder for the oldest person to row solo across any ocean, the former engineer is the proud owner of the world’s first – and only – steam-powered Land Rover.

Having first experimented with building a Foden steam wagon, Frank set himself the challenge of retrofitting a 50-year-old Land Rover Defender back in 2018.

Christened ‘Mildred’, the vehicle runs off buckets of coal, and is now one of Frank’s favourite ways to trundle through the country lanes near his Greenfield home.

“It’s a fantastic day, and really, really well organised,” he said. “I was here last year with my other car, though I didn’t bring [the Land Rover] last year.

“I left school at 14. I was a farm tractor mechanic, and then as time went on I became a bulldozer mechanic – I was on the M62, building that!

“[It didn’t take] long to make this, only about eight months, and I did a load of other things as well. But this week, I’m going to be making wheels for it to go on railway tracks!”

But Frank would not be the only steam enthusiast to visit Dawson’s Field. Also joining him were teenage tinkerers Robert and Dylan, who Frank described as “the heart and soul” of the Motor Show.

Frank Rothwell was joined by ‘teenage tinkerers’ Robert and Dylan.

While far smaller than a Land Rover, the well-loved steam engine between them was no less impressive. They too were involved in the team of ‘petrol heads’ to organise the show, having dedicated all of their free time towards helping out from start to end.

“Me and Dylan have both done a year planning it,” Robert said. “So to have the actual day here, it’s been quite good.”

The pair described their own contraption as much like a kettle: a coal fire inside heats a tank of water, which boils and produces steam. When the pressure in the tank reaches a high enough level, the pull of a lever releases the pressure to create movement in the wheels.

“It’s really good,” said Robert. “I’ve been going to steam rallies since I was three years old, and we’ve only recently got this one. We bought it in March last year, and it’s our first time owning one – it’s really fascinating!”

Following a childhood of rallies, Robert later got involved in the Steam Apprentice Club – an organisation which aims to continue the legacy of steam-powered machinery among the younger generations. Now, the pair both hope their work on the Motor Show will help spread their joy to others.