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. 



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.

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 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?

 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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.  

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.



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.