A day at the vintage tractor show

Rolling Stone

I spent countless hours piloting tractors like these on our family farm. My favorite times to be working were early morning and dusk/dark. If only I'd had a camera back then. My mother would bring lunch to the field and I would sit in the shade of the big wheel and enjoy her latest creation. These early iron horses were as live as any animal and after riding one all day, you became so in tune with every noise they make. Occasionally, I will visit my neighbor and ask to take a round in the field on his tractor. The mind snaps back 40 years and it all comes back to life, the exhaust note, the feel of the levers and switches, the cliks and claks of the engine, take me home.











One of the greatest additions to the world of tractors was power steering. Countless injuries to arms, hands and fingers were dramaticly reduced because of this one invention that everyone takes for granted.



I like the unrestored ones that show how hard they've worked in their career.





Originally, you would have to spin the giant flywheel to get it started or on some models there were hand cranks on the front. Electric start eventually came along and saved the operator from another back breaking task--starting the beast.



This would be the first one that I remember. I would stand in front of my father or grandfather and run the big throttle lever to speed up and slow down as needed. By the time I was ten I was able to do some chores by myself on the big green Deere. I suppose one would get arrested for child endangerment in today's society for letting a ten yr. old do such things. I'm glad I grew up in that time.



Some parting shots:

I like the engraving in this hood ornament.



The member of the younger generation practices his technique.





The End

wxwax

Thanks for sharing your love affair with tractors. Some very nice pics and an even better story. Great ride report, DD.

hutchman

Double D,

I did not grow up on a farm, but lived in rural area with a neighbor that had a farm. I will never forget the day he brought his new 560 International home. I thought that was going to be the biggest tractor ever.

I also remember going to a cousins farm and going for a ride on an old 2 cylinder John Deere that had to be started with the flywheel. They had a distinct sound that still draws my attention when I hear it.

Thanks for the memories.

Hutch

patch29

Not a tractor, but definitely vintage and used on the farm. It is amazing how large the new combines are today. I love tractors and machinery.

Thwack

Back in the 60's, my family lived on a farm for a few years. I was too little to lift the bales of hay, so I drove the squatty little Ford tractor (the kind with the front wheels set wide apart).

I didn't weigh much of anything (unlike today) so to hold the clutch in, I had to stand on it and do an arm curl against the steering wheel.

Those things are a blast to putt around on. I had another chance as a teenager to work on one...wish I could do it again some day.

There's a historic farm not far from where I live...I took this shot there years ago. I think it was taken with my old Kodak digital camera with a whopping 1.2 million pixel resolution (cutting edge when I got that camera).

Kind of a sucky shot but look closely at the scale of that tractor vs. the people in the picture!

Rolling Stone

Thwack,
It took lots of ground to turn one of those things around. It's the origination of the phrase "It takes a 40 acre field to turn this thing around", which is used to describe any vehicle of the non sharp turning variety. I had a PTCruiser and one could use that phrase to describe it's turning capabilities.

Thwack wrote:

There's a historic farm not far from where I live...I took this shot there years ago. I think it was taken with my old Kodak digital camera with a whopping 1.2 million pixel resolution (cutting edge when I got that camera).

Kind of a sucky shot but look closely at the scale of that tractor vs. the people in the picture!

Thwack

DirtDOG wrote:

Thwack,
It took lots of ground to turn one of those things around. It's the origination of the phrase "It takes a 40 acre field to turn this thing around", which is used to describe any vehicle of the non sharp turning variety. I had a PTCruiser and one could use that phrase to describe it's turning capabilities.

I've been told that the company that made that giant tractor went on to become Catepillar...

It's really impressive to see this thing in person. They use it to pull the hayride wagon around and it goes just a bit faster than a brisk walking pace if I recall correctly.

They have a bunch of other steam engines, but none compare with that beauty (and probably none of the others require 40 acres to turn around in).

AltPro

DirTDoG:
What a great collection of photographs... Out here where we live, there are many tractors. Most are John Deere. We own a 1942 Massey. She's beautiful and we still use her... As I write, my husband, Terry is complaining about the missing part at the end of the Hydraulic?... I have always loved old tractors, though I never drovre one until I was grown... But Terry's grandparents owned a farm in Kings Mountain, NC, and owned an old Farmall...
Love the black & White, the compositions, and the close crop shots! Nice work.


Quote of dirtdog's entire post, including photos, deleted. Hope you don't mind."Submit Reply." - fish YUP FISH... I KNOW... WAS in a HURRY! Thanks for doing it tho'

fish

I probably shouldn't tell you that I was thinking about tractors as the photo assignment this week.






You gave me a good idea for a future assignment tho.

damonff

Really nice tones in the black and whites.