Tractor & Farming Heritage
February 2007
Celebrating the history and development of the tractor
5 Welcome
At the end of a great season, theres some unwelcome news from Doncaster.
6 Straight flush!
When the Doak family of Lanarkshire decided to buy a classic Ford tractor, it proved to be the start of something really big, writes David Bowers.
12 Sandpit capers
Death Valley read the humorous sign that someone had posted to warn more than 80 participants in the Cheshire Vintage Tractor & Engine Clubs 27 December tractor road run of the plunge into one of the biggest sandpits many of them had ever seen. Pete Kelly was there, as usual!
15 News
22 United we stand!
Gerald Gregory swings his recently purchased 1929 United tractor into action, and Pete Kelly takes a close look at the predecessor to Allis-Chalmers famous Model U.
25 Reviews
30 Big Cat spotted in Welsh woodland
If youre supposed to retire at 65, nobody told Steve Richards wonderful Caterpillar RD6, which is still working for a living at 70 years old. Jo Roberts gets in on the action.
34 When batteries go BANG!
Jump-starting from one battery to another might seem a simple matter at first, but it can have all the makings of a very serious accident, writes John Barker.
38 A boy in the country
John Blake looks back fondly to his carefree childhood on the farm, when children found their own entertainment and usually encountered a few close shaves into the bargain.
44 Heavy metal in his blood
Whether the tracks are those on crawler tractors, or form part of Britains 4ft 81/2in gauge railway system, locomotive mechanic Martyn Williams has a taste for them all!
48 Boatyard belles
Robin Grigsby and Kenny Greenfield, partners in a Cornish boatyard, show Pete Kelly a pair of articulated Massey-Ferguson 1200s that have proved to be the ideal tractors for their needs.
51 Tractor Marketplace
If youre buying or selling tractors and equipment, look no further than here.
67 Dust yourself down, pick yourself up...
Life at the Hampsteads Lincolnshire smallholding comes full circle once again.
69 Worth their weight in gold
If its too small to be a tractor, yet too big to be anything else, the chances are youre looking at one of the new breed of compacts. Mike Teanby sets the scene for our special feature, followed by reports on everything from a baby John Deere and the Siromer family to Kubota, Mitsubishi, Yanmar, JCB and much else besides by Jerry Thurston and Pete Kelly.
86 Christmas annuals you couldnt put down
In Farming by the Fireside, Peter Small takes a seasonal look at a quartet of diaries and year planners produced by Farmer & Stock-Breeder around 50 years ago.
90 Reflections on a time long gone
What could be more different from the high-tech farming scene of today than the back-breaking agricultural work our forefathers knew? The Cogges Manor Farm Museum near Witney still brings the old days back to life.
94 Ferguson FE35 engine strip
Pete Kelly follows the action as the engine is removed from a complete but very tired Ferguson FE35 belonging to the Howes family of Castlethorpe, near Brigg, and reduced to a virtually empty cylinder block in a touch under 23/4 hours.
99 Letters
100 A character to remember
Woodcutting and horsemanship are in Jimmy Smiths blood, and when you mix them with his irrepressible sense of humour, you end up with a character to remember, writes Polly Pullar.
105 Floored!
Graham Hampstead makes more progress on the restoration of his shepherds hut.
106 Tractormania 2006
Mike and Julie Blenkinsop report from a tractor event at Caussade, France, that has become a magnet for buyers and sellers alike.
112 Subscribe to Tractor...
...and ensure you never miss another copy of your favourite tractor and farming heritage magazine.
114 Rare Breeds Factfile
The 36th rare breed in Marianne Thomass popular series is the Dales pony.
5 Welcome
At the end of a great season, theres some unwelcome news from Doncaster.
6 Straight flush!
When the Doak family of Lanarkshire decided to buy a classic Ford tractor, it proved to be the start of something really big, writes David Bowers.
12 Sandpit capers
Death Valley read the humorous s....
