Relic riders roll through

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/07/2023 (875 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The antique car convoy was hard to miss as it rolled up to Brandon’s Daly House Museum on Wednesday for a pit stop during the final day of its pan-provincial, historic road trip.

For three days, five Fords ranging in age from 92 to 100 years old rumbled down the old Trans-Canada Highway in conjunction with the inaugural Pine to Prairie Relic Run that took them across Manitoba from Ontario to Saskatchewan.

Setting the pace at 30 miles per hour was a 1923 Ford Model T four-door Touring soft-top, owned by Winnipeg’s Don Wadge.

Wadge’s Touring car is powered by a four-cylinder engine with a special combination ignition system complete with four buzzer coils — one for each cylinder.

“This has been a joyful trip, and the car has been running beautifully. It’s trucking right along,” Wadge said. “On the first day I was wondering what it was going to be like only going about 30 miles per hour, but it’s been exhilarating, and this is the longest trip I’ve been on with it — 545 kilometres by the time we get to the Saskatchewan border.”

The other cars in the Relic Run are a 1928 Ford Model A two-door Sedan, 1928 Ford Model A two-door Depot Hack, and a 1930 Ford Model A four-door Sedan.

The fifth antique is a 1931 Ford Model A two-door Victoria owned by David Allinson from the Carman area, who just turned 93.

“I’ve got another one at home as well. It’s a Model T and is a little bit older, but I thought this one was more dependable,” Allinson said.

“And we’ve only had a little bit of car trouble. It stopped on us just outside of Winnipeg because of dirt in the fuel line and then we had a problem with the ignition system, but it’s running good now,” Allinson said.

The Pine to Prairie Relic Run had humble beginnings, said organizer Gordon Goldsborough, who is head researcher for the Manitoba Historical Society, and someone who has always had a fascination with original highways in the province.

While researching the original route of the Trans-Canada Highway, Goldsborough said he wondered what it would be like to drive on those roads with vehicles from that era.

“First of all, we didn’t want to drive the modern Trans-Canada because it’s hazardous with all those big semis,” Goldsborough said. “Plus, it’s kind of monotonous. You can drive for miles without ever having to turn, whereas the old highways are way more interesting. They’re scenic, they go through towns along the way, and I think they’re a lot more interesting.”

Once he had his convoy confirmed, Goldsborough decided to the turn their journey into a fundraiser for the Manitoba Agricultural Museum at Austin, where he holds the position of secretary to the board of directors.

The Museum at Austin is raising money to construct a roof over an 84-foot-long, 16.5-foot-high rail car, called the Tree Planting Car.

Built in the 1920s, it was coined the travelling classroom on rails, and is complete with a theatre as well as an area for an educator to live full-time, someone who would teach children and adults across the Prairies about the benefits of planting trees.

When Goldsborough was planning the Relic Run route, he said it made sense to stop and visit more than 10 Manitoba communities with museums, hoping that like-minded people would be generous with donations.

They allocated 30 minutes at each stop, he said, and thought that would be enough time, but it wasn’t.

“Oh my, not even close,” Goldsborough said. “When we pulled into Brandon, we were more than two hours late. It was partly due to the odd mechanical problem, but mostly it was because people wanted to talk with us. In fact, as we pulled way from one tiny community, our treasurer exclaimed how we had just collected $800 in donations.”

Goldsborough said the antique owners deserve the credit for the pristine condition of their cars.

“They’re so beautiful. Some people might think a car that’s 100 years old must be an old rusty wreck that’s barely able to chug along the road. Not at all. They are pampered and kept in good mechanical condition,” Goldsborough said.

This is the “second big ride,” that Souris’ Carman Tufts and his wife Pat have been on, in their 1930 Model A.

Pat said it has been a great opportunity for them to see parts of Manitoba they hadn’t seen before. They are planning to do the route again but will take their time.

“It’s been beautiful. And I kind of got choked up once in a while, thinking how great this is. I can’t believe all the people who came out to see us,” Tufts said.

As the time travelers pulled away from the Daly House Museum one after the other with their engines purring, the drivers and passengers waved.

And once on 18th Street, they all sounded their Klaxon horns with that unmistakable “ahooga” sound as they embarked on the last leg of their run.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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