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Old
Tractors on the Farm |
| The farm
doesn't produce as much as it once did, but there are still plenty of
chores
that require tractors: Hauling manure out of the barn or hay
in,
running the brushhog, pullling a plow or a rake, hauling kids or tools
or miscellaneous stuff around in the wagon, pulling one of the other
tractors
to start it, going to get the newspaper, etc. These are some
of the
tractors we've used for those tasks, although we could always use a
couple
more. Click on the photos to go to larger images. |
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My dad
on his 1963 Allis Chalmers D-19,
on a fine haymaking day in June 1997. The three guys on the
wagon,
plus three more who were unloading a different wagon at this same time,
had brought additional tractors, wagons, and muscle, not to mention the
rake and the baler. In return we helped with their own hay,
replaced
broken teeth on the rake, and had cold beer waiting when the hay was in
the barn. |
| The
1953 Super M Farmall I had for a few
years, in that same hayfield. I keep this image on the
wallpaper
of my computer at work, and look at it every time the paperwork,
fluorescent
lights, and ringing telephone threaten to drive me nuts. Sure
miss
that tractor. See also:
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Another
view of my dad on his tractor.
The D-19 is the primary tractor on the farm now, having replaced the
Case
VAH, Allis D-15, and Farmall 560 that came before it. |
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My
sister raking with the D-15 several
years ago. Good little tractor. See more about
D-15s in General
First-Tractor Buying Advice |
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| My 1965 John Deere 3020
at the previous owner's house in Indiana in January
1999. I
had a great time buying this tractor--the seller had rebuilt and
repainted
the tractor himself, modestly described its strengths and cheerfully
admitted
its faults, and was generous with his time and patient with my
questions.
See
also:
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My dad tinkering with
his late-40s John Deere A on a gorgeous Fall day in 1997, listening to
that great two-cylinder sound. |
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Classic row-crop tractors:
Dad's John Deere A and my Farmall Super M. What do these
tractors
have in common with New York Central's 20th Century Limited,
Pennsylvania
Railroad's GG1 locomotive, Trimline telephones, and Coke
bottles?
They were designed by Henry
Dreyfuss (the John Deere) and Raymond
Loewy (the Farmall).
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The John Deere was a good
old tractor, but needed some tinkering to get it to be able to start on
its own. We never quite had the time to do that, so I was
more than
glad to lend a hand and a chain with the Farmall. My dad sold
the
A a few months after these photos were taken, to a young guy who can
give
it the patient attention it needs. I sold the Super M a year
or two
after that, making room for the 3020.
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A
manure spreader would be a necessity if we had more horses, or if we
were
trying to be cost-effective. But for an office dweller like
me, having
some extra real work to do where I can see how much I've done, how much
remains, and whether or not I've done it well, is part of the
satisfaction
of farm life.
I cleaned the Super M up for a tractor pull a couple of times,
but in 1996 the show got rained out and in 1997 it was cancelled at the
last minute. But at least both years I got
to enjoy
driving the tractor along the 15-mile backroad-route to the showgrounds
(although the trip home in 96, with the rainwater flipping off the
right
rear wheel and being blown by the wind directly onto me, wasn't quite
as
idyllic). |
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In August 2006, I bought this 1948 Case VAH back from the neighbor my
dad had sold it to about twenty years earlier. I learned to drive
and plow and haul wood with this tractor, and am glad to have it back
on the farm. It's still a good-running little tractor. I'll
gradually work on fixing it up, and someday hope to restore it to its
original Case Flambeau Red color. |
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