TL 6200 a journey back in time!

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TonyG
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:38 pm

TL 6200 a journey back in time!

Post by TonyG » Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:47 am

Those of you who read my article in the club magazine a couple of years ago may recall that my 12 Tourer was once owned by Rover main agent and Rally Driver, WP Maidens of Sleaford. This coming weekend I’m planning to attend the Mid-Lincs Rover Cub event at East Kirkby and, as we will be there for several days, will include a visit to Sleaford. Sadly, the former garage and showroom occupied by WP Maidens is now, I believe, a betting shop and the street outside has been pedestrianised so a photo opportunity out front might be difficult!
However, it will be great to take the old girl home. The car has been in my family for over 60 years and I’m certain it hasn’t been back during that time and I’m hopeful that a visitor or two to East Kirkby might remember or know of my car from the 40s or 50s so I can fill the gaps in it’s history. It once belonged to a Squadron Leader I’m told, so what better place to take it than a WW2 airfield complete with working Lancaster bomber? Just as exciting will be the drive there from Colchester in Essex; a journey of around 130 miles each way plus all that we do once in Lincolnshire. This will be the furthest I have taken the car and, assuming all goes well, I have plans to visit other parts of the country.
WP (Billy) Maidens campaigned TL 6200 between ‘37 and ‘39 in the RAC, Welsh and Scottish rallies, so I have some ground to cover if I want to take in previously visited rally locations! Earlier this year I was fortunate to attend the All Marques rally at Brooklands with Tim Dines and the Surrey RSR group, which was brilliant and, as its 80 years since Maidens competed and won in the JCC two lap trial, great to get a picture of my car on the banked circuit and going up the Test Hill. I did cheat on that occasion and trailer the car there; I just couldn’t see any fun in battling the A12 and M25 in an 82 year old car. I just hope that the more sedate roads to Sleaford are not too taxing. Watch this space!

Tony.
Tony Gilbert

P1 12 Tourer
P2 12 6 Light Saloon
Discovery 3
Discovery Sport

GOY189
Posts: 557
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:08 pm

Re: TL 6200 a journey back in time!

Post by GOY189 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:23 pm

Look forward to seeing you there Tony

TonyG
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:38 pm

Re: TL 6200 a journey back in time!

Post by TonyG » Wed Jul 17, 2019 8:44 am

I’m very pleased to report that TL6200 performed faultlessly over the weekend, shrugging off over 320 miles and returning in excess of 20mpg. The Lincolnshire roads are perfect for cars and drivers who want to tour about at 40-50mph and everyone we met was most interested in my Rover, even more so once they knew it was first registered there.
Great to catch up with people we already knew at the East Kirkby mid-Lincs rally and to chat to many more. Lovely people and a superb event with lots of cars plus the Lancaster bomber doing regular taxi runs and the Mosquito under refurbishment in the hanger.
On the return journey we called into Sleaford and managed to get a couple of photos of TL6200 driving slowly passed WP Maidens old showroom, now a betting shop. Pleasingly, the shop front has the same windows and surround as I’ve seen in an old picture. What was the workshops has been demolished and replaced by a Costa Coffee, but that is ‘progress’ typical of every town.
A very successful weekend. The best bit, of course, was driving the car and I strongly recommend throwing caution to the wind and just going for it! That said, we planned a route avoiding dual carriageways and I did pack a fair amount of spares and a few tools to avoid returning home onboard an AA wagon. However, aside from checking the oil, I didn’t need to lift the bonnet. By the return journey, driving the car was second nature and seemed completely normal. By the time I got home I was wondering why I bother with a modern car at all, but the thought of leaving my beloved Tourer in a multi storey car park or dicing with the lorries on the M25 is a bit of a reality check!

Tony.
Tony Gilbert

P1 12 Tourer
P2 12 6 Light Saloon
Discovery 3
Discovery Sport

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