68 tonnes on the move to Dorset

Mike and Susan Fincher from Horncastle in Lincolnshire plan to drive their heavy load on a sixteen hour journey with a maximum speed of 30mph to the Great Dorset Steam Fair at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset next week.

Heading the load is a 1961 ex RAF Thornycroft Mighty Antar, followed by a 50 ton capacity Dyson trailer which will be carrying a Scammell Explorer 6x6 recovery tractor. At the end of the load is a living van that follows on behind as a second trailer.

The tractor and trailer are 10 feet 9 inches wide which is about 2 feet 6 inches wider than the widest lorry allowed on the roads under normal ‘construction use’ regulations, so Mike has had to gain a movement order to transport the load and has to take an alternate route across the country.

The Finchers will exhibit their vehicles in the diesel heavy haulage section at the Great Dorset Steam Fair this year. It’s a small section with only 22 vehicles, but it’s also a working section with constant arena action. Displays include recovery and winching demonstrations as well as pure heavy haulage shows.

Mike Fincher says; “We are both very excited about this year’s show and it’s definitely worth the journey. The Antar does two-and-a-half miles to the gallon, so it uses over 100 gallons for the journey each way. I will probably use another 50 Gallons of fuel just driving in the arena. My wife will be driving her Scammell Explorer, an ex army recovery tractor which does about three miles to the gallon.”

“The size, length and weight of this load are only permitted by operating under ‘Special Types General Orders’ or STGO regulations. These are rules that allow the movement of very wide, heavy or long loads, not normally allowed on the road.  The requirement is that 2 days notice is given to each Police force area, through which the load has to pass. I thank Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Thames Valley, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset Police forces for their help in getting me down to Dorset yet again.”

The designated route is A158 to Lincoln, A1 south, to the Bedford Bypass, then A421 through Milton Keynes to Brackley, then A43 onto the M40.  The Finchers will then stay on the motorway for one junction before joining the A34 South through Oxford to Bullingdon Crooss, then A303 past Stonehenge to meet the A360, which goes to Salisbury.  The last leg up and down countless hills on the A354 to Tarrant Hinton.

The Great Dorset Steam Fair runs from 2-6 September 2009 and is the largest show of its kind situated on 600 acres of farmland in the heart of Dorset’s beautiful countryside. The show has something for everyone from steam giants, vintage vehicles, country side trades, and crafts to the adrenaline rides of the largest travelling modern fair ground in the country.

Photograph:  Arriving in Dorset in 2008