Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Vintage Cars ~ Tranquille on the Lake ~ Kamloops, BC

Sunshine brings out so many great things.  Today is for car lovers especially, who get to see all kinds of car shows, parades, rallies and tours when the sun comes out.  The old cars come out from a winter in the safety of their garage and after some polishing are all ready to show off.  The Kamloops chapter of the Vintage Car Club recently held a Spring Tour at Tranquille Farm Fresh where the public was invited to view 150 vehicles. 

The old Tranquille Sanatorium has visits from Vintage Car Club.
Vintage cars at Tranquille on the Lake
We went out to enjoy the ‘vintage’ at that historical landmark of Tranquille.  This is a great location for something like this, especially considering the vintage cars will be surrounded by history.  The ‘showing’ of the vehicles was set for noon to 3pm, although many of them left earlier, and there were vendors there for those wishing to eat lunch.
Some cars are completely refurbished and others are work in progress.
Vintage Cars on display including 1932 Nash 987
The license plate that is shown on some of the cars are “Vintage” and others are “Collector” so I had to find out what the technical difference between the two of them was, and then there is also “antique” but no plates were seen for that.  The info can vary depending on where you look but it turns out that the general difference is the age and a lot of criteria. 
A coupe is a two door model of long ago days
A burgundy coupe at the Vintage car show
A true antique vehicle was manufactured before Dec. 31, 1915 and carries ‘Vintage’ license plates. A ‘vintage’ vehicle is at least 30 years old and also carries a ‘Vintage’license plate. A ‘collector’ vehicle is at least 25 years old with ‘Collector’ plates and another is a ‘classic’ which would be a distinctive vehicle produced 1925-1948 as high priced and a limited quantity were built but that would carry a ‘Vintage’ plate.  Have I confused you yet?
This bright yellow truck stands out in the crowd
 1958 GMC is part of the Vintage Car show
The distinct differences are determined in British Columbia by ICBC (Insurance Co. of BC) who sets the rules with the Motor Vehicle branch and then determine the classification for car collectors.  This would explain variations with other areas.
this beautiful car is considered 'vintage'
The Vintage beauty with wooden spoke tires
I heard the story that the wheels on these vehicles would be taken off in summer and put into the Thompson River so the water would swell the spokes up and fit better thus preventing the hot weather from drying them out which might allow those spokes to fall out.  A simple solution to a potential problem.
The whitewall tires on the limo are nothing like today's whitewalls.
Packard Super Eight Touring Limo
This Packard Super Eight must fit into the ‘classic’ category as it is a might fine vehicle.  I am sure it would fit the criteria of a ‘classic’ and although I am not sure of the year of this model, these touring limousines were produced in the late 1930’s, early 40’s.  This looks like some we've seen in those old movies.
There is a variety of hood ornaments on the different vintage cars
Hood ornaments adorn the Vintage cars
These hood ornaments, called car mascots in the UK, look like art pieces and can identify the maker of the car.  These are still an important design of any car, to this day and made for a great photo group.  
Comedy skits were performed by the Laughing Stock Theatre Society
Laughing Stock Theatre Society
The Laughing Stock Theatre Society put on a comedy routine that was enjoyed by all.  They also have another show planned at Tranquille in August so watch their web page for more info on that.  
The old Tranquille sanatarium meets the old vintage cars
Long abandoned Tranquille buildings offer great setting for the Vintage cars
The setting was great and for those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to see these historical buildings, there were tours held for members of the Vintage Car Club.  I didn’t get the memo but I am sure the public that came to view the vehicles would have been welcome to join the guided tours that were offered after the comedy show.

These vehicles were all once part of the original Tranquille Sanatarium
Fire Hall and vehicles of old Tranquille Sanitarium
These vehicles have all been restored and likely sit the way they may have done when they were new.  The ambulance is a 1952 Austin Sheerline A125, the wrecker is a 2 ton 1945 Ford model 69T and then the fire truck is a 1937 Ford LaFrance.  Both the wrecker and the fire truck are shown as being owned and restored by members of the Kamloops Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada.
For more photos of the Vintage Car Club, click here for the Easter Parade show that we attended and then did a blog page on.

There is more information about the classifications of cars on the VCC site, if you wish to learn more, click here.  Kamloops Chapter has their own page on the VCC site, to learn about their shows and see their calender of events and history, click here.

Tranquille Farm Fresh has lots of events coming up, click here to learn more about those.

For more history on Tranquille, click here, then for another I had done on Tranquille on a previous visit, click here.

4 comments:

  1. Awesome display of wonderful machines! Wished I had known about it!
    Brian

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  2. wow your blog picture is very amazing and content is very informative.

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  3. Hi Sheila,
    As a native Kamloopsian who is dislocated to Ontario, I just have to let you know how much I love your blog.
    Some great photos of the countryside and city events - makes me want to return home even more than I already do.

    Keep up the good work, Johanna

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  4. It is my hobby to collect information about various old cars and you give me enough information about various models of old cars. My favorite old car is Land rover series 3 that I bought from John Brown Land Rovers.



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