PRESERVATION UPDATE
Under the control of new organisers, the Cumbria Easter Rally at Kirkby Stephen and Brough attracted the customary variety of vehicles mainly from Scotland and northern England — and cheated potentially threatening weather.
Although cold and largely overcast — other than some brief snatches of sunshine on Easter Sunday — it escaped rain and the late snow that caused disruption elsewhere over this early Easter weekend.
Holding it on the Saturday and Sunday of the four-day weekend made all the difference, as farther south on Easter Monday heavy snow caused the Crich Tramway Village to cancel the second half of its two-day World War 2 Home Front event, the first time ever that the Derbyshire venue has been unable to operate trams throughout an Easter weekend.
Notable among vehicles participating for the first time was A4 FWS, a newly restored 1983 Leyland Tiger with manual gearbox and an early example of a Plaxton Paramount 3500 body, owned by Chris Stainton to represent a similar vehicle new to his father for the family’s coach business in Kendal.
Another newcomer, probably making its first journey ever out of Scotland, was another recent long-term restoration, Hugh Cumming’s 1961 Glas…
