The Sun Shines for Engins Passion

This past weekend the hugely anticipated Engins Passion event took place at the Delmonico Dorel quarry in Albon, Southern France, which saw industry professionals and machinery enthusiasts gather to see over 60 examples of classic plant, many restored and working at this one-of-a-kind show.

Engins Passion first took place back in 2014 and this year’s event is the third edition, taking place once more following the restrictions of the Covid pandemic. This time around, the sun shone and scorching temperatures made for a very pleasant family day out, looking at historically important diggers and machinery.

The Engins Passion organisation exists thanks in part to a large number of active enthusiasts who are keen to keep the famous old French brands in the public eye, in particular Poclain, they are assisted in this by a number of associations namely, Aipethoac, ASSEDUR, ETPFA, in addition to the well-known and respected French public works forum Technique TP and Generation Deux a fantastic group dedicated to keeping the memory of Poclain alive.

As one might expect the event was dominated by the products from Poclain, with excavators ranging from the 35 (Little Ant) right up to the star attraction the 185-tonne 1000 model.

Unfortunately having recently returned from my trip to Finland, I could not afford to take a trip to this event personally, but my fellow Earthmovers Magazine contributor Eoghan Daly did pay a visit on the Friday before the show and the Saturday when it was open to the public.

It wasn't all Poclain machines though, another famous French brand Berliet was represented by this T45 rigid dumptruck which is powered by a 635hp diesel engine! 

Another French manufactured machine was this Nordest rope controlled excavator, I believe these machines were manufactured at the Nordest factory in Grenoble.

Eoghan will be covering this event in more detail in the magazine, but he kindly shared the photos contained in this post to offer us a taste of the event.