Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i Tractor & Farming Heritage

Along with the change of name in 1957, it was also announced that the new Massey Ferguson would move from Fletchamstead Highway and taking over the Banner Lane factory before the new year ready to produce the new MF 35 and MF 65 (red/grey) tractors, on January 1, 1958. Staffing The arrangement included some staff from the Kilmarnock z in Scotland. Mainly engineering and service people moving down to the Banner Lane factory, along with some staff from the Manchester Barton Dock Road factory. A few of the staff from ‘Fletch’ started moving to Banner Lane in the new year, with staff from the Standard Company moving to Fletch and the Standard’s other factories nearby (Radford, and Canley) in Coventry. The movement of departments went on over the months of…

In America, the Massey Ferguson 97 is often referred to as a ‘muscle tractor’, a ‘wheat-land’ tractor, and a ‘prairie tractor’ because at 108hp it was a big tractor for the period, and it was clearly built for pulling heavy machinery on vast stretches of arable farmland. Giants In the UK, the first tractors were small machines, and have gradually increased in size over the last century, but in the US, this was not the case. There, early tractors were enormous, then they became small, and then they became large again. The vast untamed prairies were first cultivated using massive tractors, now known as the ‘prairie giants’. These tractors were colossal even by today’s standards and were expensive tools, owned mostly by the larger, wealthier farmers and agricultural contractors. During…

The village of Earls Colne in Essex has a long and well recorded history which goes back over 1000 years. The village, which is on the banks of the river Colne, also has links with William the Conqueror, and historic buildings dominate it. One of the most attractive of these historic buildings is the Atlas Works, where Robert Hunt’s business was once located. Local reputation Robert Hunt was initially a travelling millwright who hailed from the Soham area in Cambridgeshire. In 1824, Hunt moved to Earls Colne and by 1830 he had set himself up in business there as a millwright, wheelwright, and smith. This business eventually became known as the Atlas Works. The business gained a local reputation for manufacturing agricultural equipment, but what really put Robert Hunt on…

Distribution of the diminutive Caterpillar Ten in the UK was heralded by the announcement by Tractor Traders Ltd, London, that they would soon be demonstrating the new model. A supply of the new crawler, which had begun production in 1928, had just been received from the US manufacturers. It was a smaller model than the well-known 2-Ton type and looked to fill a gap in the market for a lighter tractor. The 2-Ton had a production run from 1921 to 1928, beginning life as the Holt T-35 until it was renamed and became part of the company’s consolidation into Caterpillar in 1925. The Caterpillar Ten boasted all the features that had become synonymous with the brand highly efficient traction, low ground pressure psi, durability and economical to maintain. Caterpillar’s 2-Ton…

David Brown began building tractors almost by accident. Up to that point, the Huddersfield based company had specialised in manufacturing diverse types of gears. Then along came Harry Ferguson, who asked him to produce the transmission for his new tractor with its groundbreaking three-point hitch. The rest is history. Working with Harry Ferguson could often end up as a bit of a roller coaster ride, and from the mid-Thirties, David Brown ended up building the entire tractor. This arrangement only lasted a couple of years, but the die was cast. Brown went on to design his own machine and the VAK-1 was introduced in 1939. Owner’s view Stephen Griffiths from Shropshire has a fine example. He has always liked David Brown tractors and was particularly keen on the Cropmaster. Coming…

RSABI Honorary Vice-president Andrew Arbuckle (79) has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours. Andrew, who served as a Trustee of RSABI before becoming a Vice-president, has raised more than £100,000 for the charity, by producing three books (two with his late brother John) which take a light-hearted look at farming life. In recognition of his contribution to the charity, which supports people in Scottish agriculture, he was awarded an Outstanding Contribution award on HM Albion in June 2022 as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, attended by HRH The Princess Royal. Andrew has also contributed exceptionally to the heritage and growth of community arts and sport in Fife, along with a career as an award-winning agricultural journalist and his dedication to local and national politics in Scotland.…

Pickards Cottage is another authentic three-bay building, similar in outline to Stang End. It had been largely rebuilt in the late 18th century, and further modified during the 19th century. Some classic features of the traditional ‘long house’ are obvious, cruck frame, opposing doors, a fire window, and a thatched roof. Development New features emerge, however, as soon as we move around inside this cottage. For example, there is now a proper wooden floor for upstairs bedrooms; what we would all recognise as being a staircase (not just a ladder) steep, but manageable; Yorkshire sash windows and, praise be, no provision at all for keeping livestock in the house. The fireplace arrangement on its own is a revelation. There is only one cruck frame here, and that means, unlike all…

THE LAND ARMY’S LOST WOMEN This is a wonderful well-illustrated book bringing the reader the true-life stories of the women who played a forgotten but vital role in the fight for our freedom - the Women’s Land Army. It also brings us a taste of the era, bringing us first-hand stories of those desperate times. To many the Women’s Land Army is probably one of the lesser known branches of the women’s forces that served their country during the Second World War. Thousands of women faced losing their stories to history, but in The Land Army’s Lost Women, countless memoirs from members have been captured, to ensure the vital work these ladies carried out on farms across Britain is never forgotten. From friendships unbreakable by time, romances that blossomed into…

The Ransomes plough I bought last month is still standing in the shed I put it in when it arrived. It has rained every day since then and we are waterlogged everywhere. Surveying the job Last summer I brought a few trailer loads of limestone and built up the roads in the gateways, but you wouldn’t know now, they are all under mud and water. At least while the plough is under cover, I had a chance to look it over and noticed one disc looked a bit smaller than the other. I measured the good one, and it is 15 1/2in across, so I think it would have been 16in when new. It has been replaced at some time because instead of being riveted on with three large rivets;…

There was a wind of change in the air when Glenluce Vintage Tractors held their AGM at the local bowling club on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, writes Bob Weir. Ken McKie, who has been chairperson since Glenluce Vintage Tractors was formed in 2002, has stepped down and been replaced by Steven Landers from Newton Stewart. Joint secretaries Margaret Stewart and Jean McKie have retired, and Jasmine Gordon has taken up the post. Jean was also treasurer, and this responsibility has now devolved to Stewart Birse. They also voted several new members onto the committee. Last year, the club was proud to host the National Vintage Tractor Road Run in April. This was a tremendous success with thanks going to Stewart Birse and the committee for all their hard work. This…

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Sitting forlorn in a sea of brambles was a tractor with a cast iron radiator bearing three unfamiliar raised letters. Without a brush cutter, it was impossible to investigate further, though the letters seemed to spell RIP. Lost and found I was engaged in an encyclopaedia of world tractors at the time (it never happened, though some of the research appeared as a series in Tractor & Machinery). Naturally, I was intrigued and wondered if I’d made an error and that the letters were actually R&P, an ephemeral 1917 American tractor that had been discovered in New Zealand. The Ruggles and Parsons was made by the Republic Motor Truck Co of Alma, Michigan, where Frank W Ruggles was President from 1917 when the 30,000th truck was built. He left in…

FESTIVE SPIRIT In good weather, the annual Tractor & Lorry Convoy Road Run took place on Sunday, December 17, staged by Bradley Woodward and his associates at the South of England Showground, Ardingly, Sussex. It was held on behalf of the Chailey & District Young Farmers Club and The Early Birth Association and Kanaross. The stars were without doubt the fine County Super-Six and the Super-4 which we see here on its way out of the showground that was packed with onlookers.…

NEW MICRO FILE SET New from Laser Tools is this micro round diamond coated file set (ref 8645), for precision filing and shaping in various applications. This set includes 12 round micro files, designed with flexible shafts for ease of use and precision. The files are coated with hard-wearing diamond particles, making them ideal for precise filing tasks, particularly good for cleaning up small electrical connectors, but the applications are endless. The set offers a range of file sizes to accommodate different needs: two files with a diameter of 0.7mm; two files with a diameter of 0.9mm and one file each of 1.35mm, 1.55mm, 1.7mm, 2.0mm, 2.3mm, 2.55mm, 2.75mm and 3.0mm. Each file has a length of 125mm, which provides ample reach and manoeuvrability for various filing tasks. The files…