Great Dorset Steam Fair

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The Great Dorset Steam Fair is an annual show featuring steam powered vehicles and machinery. The fair has been held in Dorset, England, every summer since 1968, currently on Cranborne Chase near Blandford Forum. It now covers 600 acres and funs for five days from the Wednesday after the UK August bank holiday. It is reputedly the largest outdoor show in the world. The most common exhibits are traction engines, tractors and farm machinery, but also included are preserved railway engines, cars and commercial vehicles, and shire horses. The show also has a market, autojumble, live music and funfair (some of which is powered by the steam engines). The show is run by Martin Oliver through Great Dorset Steam Fair Ltd.

The steam fair in 2004
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The steam fair in 2004

A speciality of the show is the display of traction engines and steam rollers performing the work for which they were designed. Such displays include heavy haulage, threshing, sawing logs, ploughing and road-making.

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