My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

Post by armyairforce »

There was more than expected, so we radioed Chris to bring his Dodge down to assist.

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Right at the end of the day, my daughter went for a last ride on the Helter-Skelter and took some pictures of the two show fields from the top ( sites 1 & 2 ).

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Below is a link to a video compiled from several trips around the museum site, with the camera mounted on both the Dodge and Jeep.

https://youtu.be/UcORp8EvD38
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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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On Thursday evening, we took four vehicles for a drive and on a photoshoot around Pockerley Manor ( site 6 ).

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We left Pockerley past the old church and headed towards the wagonway ( site 7 ) before re-joining the main site road and heading for the town ( site 4 ). Derek hadn't yet arrived and Paul had gone out for food but caught us up in town, joining the front of the line for some pictures.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Friday September 2nd

We hung around the show field until the 11am convoy and continued on another lap after everyone else pulled back into the show field. We followed the route again, back to town and stopped at Coffee & Cake Corner ( site 5 ). In addition to being close to the cafe, we got a good view of convoys and other vehicles going by.

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We headed on to the rail yard ( site 3 ) and after bumping into Lynne's parents there, she headed back to camp with the Jeep while I stayed to get some photos of the Dodge up against the loading platform.

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We were back in town towards the end of the day as the trams were waiting to take the last of the public back to the entrance.

Before food that evening, and with Derek and Paul around, we had a six vehicle convoy around the site again for more pictures, starting with a group shot at the far end of the colliery yard ( site 8 ), making use of the building's steps for a good vantage point.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

Post by armyairforce »

From there, we headed back through the pit village ( site 9 ) and around the road to Pockerley Manor ( site 6 ).

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From there we drove down past the church and towards the wagonway sheds ( site 7 ). We past some British paras heading the other way.

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From there it was back on the main road to town ( site 4 ), where we ended the photoshoot. While in town, the British paras turned up again.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Saturday September 3rd

I began Saturday with a wander around the second show field ( site 2 ), taking a look at the vehicles and dioramas there.

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That was followed by the 11am convoy, followed by morning coffee at the usual spot ( site 5 ). This time we were joined by a friend's Jeep for a while.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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We moved around a few more times across Saturday to different locations. Here we are back at the colliery.

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Passing traffic at Coffee & Cake Corner.

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At the end of the day, the museum was providing a meal in town for all those attending. We were going to take the vehicles until the rain set in for the evening and everything was covered up.

Sunday September 4th

The last group of four pictures from coffee corner were a selection of just a handful of pictures from Sunday. We did the convoy and morning coffee, then went back to the main show field for lunch and then to started packing up camp.

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Five days on site under canvas was exhausting, both due to the fresh air, lack of sleep and the heavy steering on the Dodge giving me arms like Popeye! With the Jeep and the Dodge, Lynne and I managed to burn through around 19 gallons of petrol in four days of driving. However, it was still a cheap holiday and the highlight of our 1940s calendar.

Further pictures can be found on the following links.....

https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2022/beamish2.htm

https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2022/beamish3.htm
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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

Post by Gordon_M »

Excellent report there Steve, and that's as different from "turn up and park in a field" as you can get. I think only the wartime railway event would have more "stuff" :D
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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Tanfield Railway 1940s Weekend - September 24th & 25th

This was the first Tanfield Railway 1940s event since 2019, our last show before Covid shut the world down. It's been a long time coming back and I think it was the first large event at the railway since covid restrictions ended. We took the Dodge and M201 to the show, arriving late on Friday afternoon. For the first time, we decided to camp there, living a little further away now and with high fuel prices. Lynne had also just bought a new modern plastic tent and wanted to try it out before the year ended.

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She's not a huge fan of crawling around in canvas tents. The new tent was hidden under our large camo net in the corner of the field and for a modern tent, it blended quite well into the trees behind.

Two locomotives were running during the weekend - the 1943 Austerity class 0-6-0 saddle tank No.49 and recently restored 1904 Andrew Barclay built 0-6-0 saddle tank "Horden".

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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We were expecting some of our friends the following day, members of our unofficial group "The Hedgehog Heroes". The name came from the Beamish show a few years ago, where a member of the public tried to steal a ration box from our display. Without realising Neil was in the back of his GMC, the offender came into the display, picking up the ration crate explaining to his accomplice that it would make a great hedgehog house. Some sharp words from Neil put him straight. I'd recently got some magnetic plastic patches made, copied from an original bomb group patch of a hedgehog. All our vehicles now carry this patch.

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Not all the group were there this weekend, but we still had two Dodges, two Jeeps and a trailer on show. The other guys arrived on Saturday morning and stayed for Sunday.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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In addition to a number of vehicles at the show, there were several dioramas from various groups and a field kitchen providing food. The main events field was located between the Marley Hill yard and Andrews House station. The military vehicles and the dioramas were located in this field.

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The Seatones singing group were based at Andrews House station while swing bands played in the carriage shed and another singer performed at the other end of the line at East Tanfield station.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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At around 2pm, a seven vehicle convoy set off from the show field along the main road, which runs more or less parallel to the railway, down to East Tanfield station. That station is quite a bit lower than Andrews House and being sheltered in a bowl surrounded by trees; was much warmer!

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We stayed there long enough for a coffee & cake stop before returning to the Marley Hill show field. It gave the public at both stations the chance to see the vehicles on the move, rather than just parked up for the day.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Sunday's show followed the same format with another convoy mid afternoon. Some of the vehicles present on Saturday were only there for one day, but several different vehicles turned up on Sunday, so the overall vehicle count was about the same.

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At times, it was a chilly weekend, thanks to a stiff Northerly wind on Saturday, but thankfully the wind dropped for Sunday and was a little warmer from the West. That was the last 1940s event in our calendar for this year, but we're still likely to be having a few more rides out before the year is over. There's the possibly of a trip out collecting for the Royal British Legion before Remembrance Sunday in November and I'm sure we'll still manage a few more rides out before the year is over too.

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More pictures and a short video of the locos here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2022/tanfield.htm
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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Vehicle Wash and Photoshoot - October 1st

With the recent maintenance on both Jeeps requiring one fender to be removed, there was a certain amount of paint chipping happened around the bolt heads. I wanted to touch up those areas with fresh paint. At some point, I also want to carry on the painting of the Dodge, such as under the fenders and rear wheel arches.

Before I did any painting, I wanted the areas cleaned of the dust and dirt that has built up over the season. The Ford also hadn't been out of the garage for over a year and was rather dusty. Jessie needed to be brought out of the garage first, in order to clear the doorway for Hope, parked in the middle.

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Both Jeeps were jetwashed, starting with Jessie. With both of them clean, the Dodge was backed out of the garage and turned around. This was the first time all three vehicles had been outdoors together since Faith was repainted into olive drab. It was an opportunity not to miss, so the three vehicles were lined up for some group photographs before the Dodge got wet.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Both Jeeps were blown dry by the wind and a bit of warmth in the sun, so were dry for the pictures.

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With a selection of photos taken, it was time to wash the Dodge. It was left to dry off a while, then they were all put back in the garage.

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Re: My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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It's a year today since the Dodge made its first outing in the new olive drab colour scheme.

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