Oldsters are still ploughing on

When Harry Ferguson was developing the modern agricultural tractor in the 1930s, he cannot have realised the impact it would have on farming.

The ‘Little Grey Fergie’ he introduced in 1946 is an icon of British agriculture, and vintage tractors of all models are now painstakingly restored, put on show, and bought and sold throughout the UK.

One such tractor enthusiast is John Broom, of Easington, co-ordinator for the Holderness Vintage Machinery Club, which this weekend celebrates its 10th anniversary with its annual vintage show and rally.

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“I’m not from a farming family, but I was brought up in this area and, as a lad, I went on to farms and had a chance to drive tractors,” says John.

“I loved it. When I retired from my job as a mechanical technician on the gas rigs in the North Sea, I was looking for another interest and I got involved with the club which was just starting. It was like going back to the days when I was on farms.”

John now has his own impressive line-up of vintage tractors bought and re-built during the past decade. He has sold a restored grey Fergie but that was because he needed room. It’s not a money-maker for him, although there are many well-attended vintage machinery sales during the year where he could cash in.

“The blue Fordson Major (1954) cost me about £800 and took me three years to restore,” he says.

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“I bought it at a machinery sale just up the coast here at Aldbrough. It was in quite a poor condition and had a filler on the front for a manure loader.

“It had been battered about a bit and I had to get hold of quite a few parts.

“Now it’s back in full working condition and I use it with a cart to fetch local manure for neighbours’ gardens and for working on a plot of land. It’s probably worth around £2,000. It’s not mint condition but it looks good and works well.

“The red Massey Ferguson MF135 (1970s) also had a filler on it when I bought it at York Machinery Sale about 10 years ago. It cost me around £1,000. I’ve spent a lot of money on it and I wouldn’t expect to get back what I’ve spent, but I would think it’s worth around £3,500. That’s about the going rate.

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“It took me about six months to get it back in good condition. The seat is more comfortable than the Fordson which is a tin seat and is not sprung at all.

“I use both the Fordson Major and this one on my land. I’m doing a bit of ploughing with it at the moment ready to re-lay some grass. I managed to pick up an old plough in a dilapidated state for £20 at a sale in Market Rasen. It was cheap but something of a wreck. I hadn’t realised how much work it would take, but I use it now.”

John’s three-year old grandson, Joe, has ‘adopted’ his Massey Ferguson and, like most young country boys, he enjoys being at the wheel.

The third tractor in the line at Easington is the oldest John has had.

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“The green Fordson N (1940) was a wartime model and was originally on iron wheels before being converted to rubber tyres. It has a crank shaft, so there’s no self-starting.

“This one worked for the War Ag over at Newport, near Gilberdyke. It was parked up for many years and had lost a number of bits and pieces but they were dug up from the middle of a manure heap.

“Another enthusiast bought the tractor first, started the restoration, then I bought it from him. I paid about £800, painted it back to its original livery and finished the restoration. It’s now worth at least £1,500 and probably more.”

John also organises the Holderness Vintage Machinery Club’s annual tractor run, at the beginning of May.

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All three of his tractors will be on display at Keyingham this weekend, along with another 100 tractors and more than 200 exhibits in all. And it’s not all about tractors – there will also be steam engines, cars and commercial vehicles.

“The machinery club started out as a regular monthly meeting and it has developed from there. We now have 80 members. The people involved in the club vary from those who don’t own tractors and maybe don’t have a big interest but come along for the social side.

“We have the sort of chap with a little Grey Fergie who thinks the world of it and wants to show it off all polished up, and then we have those at the other end of the spectrum who have probably as many as 20-30 tractors in various conditions.

“There are quite a few people who prefer to see the tractors in their working clothes, straight off the farm, and, in some cases, buyers will pay more for them in this state.

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“We started off with a winter show which was held under cover at a village nursery in Keyingham. At one time, we had both winter and summer shows to organise. Now we have just the one and it has grown to quite a size.

“We were fortunate with our show site. It was an old gravel pit that had been filled in.

“The man who owns it, Mr Whitaker, said we could use the land if we tidied it up.

“It’s now levelled and looks very picturesque with trees and bushes all around. ”

Holderness Vintage Machinery Club – Vintage Show & Rally takes place today and tomorrow at Boyes Lane, Keyingham (seven miles east of Hull).