Every year my Dad and I visit the National Steam Rally in Stradbally and every year we’re amazed by the marvels of old. This year I went with a vintage camera to capture some of the magic.

Steam fills the air as we you walk around. The centre field is filled with the biggest collection of traction engines you’ll ever see. They all look like new as they drive around but for something to be younger than 100 would be unusual.

Hidden in the forrest to the side is the Steam Preservation Society’s steam train. It’s great to go around the short loop and see how we used to travel.

In the bottom field there’s a section for vintage cars (we visited in one of ours). The Model T club of Ireland are also always in attendance so there’s plenty to wander around in the non-steam vehicles department.

Like all shows there’s a bit of everything, a huge jumble of stalls fills the top of the field and a fun fair at the side fills the air with dance music and screams. There’s also a dog show in the lower part of the field, some people watch it all day, I just watch if someone has a particularly troublesome dog!

Overall it’s always a great day and I can highly recommend it for a day out, just be sure that you’re prepared for all the smoke and steam!

The full album of all my photos from the show is on my Flickr.