bluegreen

Yes there was an Lithuanian sticker on the back of one of those trailers now I come to think of it...…………..and I got some more photos of a tri axle one on the rear of a Puma 240 last week, the uk dealer obviously is pricing them to sell.................probably a lot cheaper than a Larrington tri axle no doubt.

Its the silly season here in the east Anglian fens, everybody is out either cultivating, drilling or harvesting rootcrops or maize...………….trailers everywhere, you name the machine and Ive probably seen one in the last week!! Highlights include the new tracked DeWulf potato harvesters with one big farmer running three in his 6 machine fleet...………………...plus a fleet of brand new hired in CASE Puma 165, 185 tractors to assist his own New Holland T7.210s. Big John Deere 6Rs everywhere hauling maize, loads of Fendt 724 and 936s, One huge local salad farm with hired fleets of MF 7700,6700s and NH T7.210, 190s all over the area...……..Two big Valtra T fleets, one dark green machines the other all black ones. A brand new CASE Optum 300 just up the road...……………………..two black Deutz warrior 7250s on Shropshires maize carting with Kane 16 tonners (that was a first for me) pictures too follow in another thread. They were among 16 tractor trailers and 7 different brands hauling from a 2 yr old Krone Big X1100...……………..lots of JCB 4220s as well and a fair few 8330s, two of which hauling orange tri axle Laumetris trailers...…..whoever they are?? Quite a few old MFs and Internationals about here too, MF3120, 3085, 3070 and 2wd 3060 plus a mint 2wd International 844xl or similar number...……………..sadly not many old Fords for some reason. Well I did move here because of the high level of tractor activity and tractor dealers around the Isle of Ely

I was a regular visitor to Stetchworth estates back in the late 80s early 90s and they used to let me drive one of their 1987 Ford 7610s, these were specced with larger than standard front rims according to one of the drivers...……………………...like so many of the farms in the surrounding area that ran Fords in the early to mid 80s they also went on to ditch them completely in the 90s and went over to MF3000/3600s...…………..mind you they did change one of the 7610s for an ex demo 7810 a little while before going all red...………..And then eventually becoming one of Fendts victims in early 2000s with a pair of 716s

OMG!! I can see that dodgy driver in the grey jacket that Paul Palmer sacked a couple of months back!! Has he got himself a job with Vredo!! And he is still rolling up his ciggies all the time

Im on facebook Nick so I will go have a look myself I think the Tilbrooks tractor was the Matbro Mastiff, I seem to remember reading it was one of three made which is probably why it made over 40k!! Anyway Tilbrooks just like all the other Ford farms around where I used to live don't have a blue tractor on the farms anymore, other than the Tuddenham prototype T7 and T6s.

I think it had a double barrelled name not unlike Allis Chalmers...…………….it was big grey blue looking machine with four equal sized wheels like county and Roadless, maybe even from late 60s but I recall there were only single figure numbers of them sold in uk.

Some big TWs this time round The TW25 with the 7f Ransomes plough belonged to Tilbrooks near Red Lodge/ Chippenham and this farm got in the news when they sold a very rare old 70s tractor that's name eludes me...……..I know it was similar styling to a Roadless and sold for £46,000 or thereabouts around 20 years ago now I guess. What cant be seen in the picture were the two New Holland 8070 harvesters busy cutting the crop as the ploughman began turning the stubble over...……………..wish I had taken more pics of the scene but I was just a lad and probably in a hurry to go elsewhere...………………..Tilbrooks were all Ford at the time and had an 8210, 2x 7610 and 6610 as I recall. The TW35 was Robert Claydons who Ive featured in other pics earlier, this was his last big Ford and as his estate got bigger and he handed control over to his son they switched over too big JDs, CASE ,JCB and a few MFs...…………………………………..I managed to spoil the picture by not closing the camera up correctly after putting a new film in...……….this allowed extra light in and the subsequent over exposure.

No problem at all Nick, I think the 70/80/90s Fords hold a special place in most tractor enthusiasts hearts...…………...They just ooze charisma from the Ford 2000 of the early 70s up until the 30 series final models of the early 90s...…………………..The more pictures of them uploaded to FTF the better I say

Back in 1987 the neighbouring farm to Moulton Manor was and still is Dalham Hall Estates, and like most farms in this area they were all Ford. They farmed a bigger area than the neighbours with some 2500 acres I recall. At the time of the pictures below they had just bought a new August 87 "E" reg. Ford TW15 to do the ploughing and this relegated their older Ford 8210 "X" reg to lesser duties. They also ran 2 or 3 Ford 7610s one of which had the AP cab and was on the MF drill in the pic below...………..I should mention they had an FW60 for the really heavy jobs as did Moulton Manor farms. These days like Moulton manor they have gone all CASE IH with DOE Power. This was after a dalliance with a couple of John Deeres and the abject failure of a New Holland TM190 which wrecked their relationship with the blue half of DOEs. To my knowledge none of the farms photographed here still run blue tractors, their either CASE (same make really) or JD or Fendt.

Im afraid I lost a few pictures along the way and one of them was a picture of the 7810 prototype working near Tuddenham in early 1987, basically looked like a cut and shut job on a 7610...…...you could see where an extra section of panelling had been added and had lengthened the tractor which indeed was decalled 7610.

I thought one of the model manufacturers had earmarked the Matrot M141 self propelled for a 1 32 model...………….maybe Replicagri?

Who made the first self propelled 1 32 beet harvester any idea? All I can see are Holmer and Ropa machines, no matrot or moreau machines sadly.

Nice project going here Sean, but has any manufacturer made either a trailed Beet harvester or a 80s - 90s self propelled version??

In April 1988 Moulton Manor farms changed their last two 7610s for a pair of the very last 7710s...….. These were delivered in April on the "E" registration...………...Im guessing they had either completed the deal prior to the launch of the 7810 at Smithfield December 87 or were offered the 7710s at a much lower price than the new 6 cylinder 100hp 7810s.…………….I was well pleased they did as I preferred the 7710s and still do today. Anyways I can remember driving past their yard just after the tractors had been delivered and spying all three series 2 7710s lined up in one of their big sheds...…...Yayyyy!!! Happy days In the first picture they had the new tractors carting corn from their two Claas 108sl machines...…………..notice the nicer front hub design on the 88 year machines. The second picture was beet drilling in March 89 using a Stanhay Webb 18 row drill plus Granyl applicators!! I was working for Stanhay back in those days as a storeman...…...hated it with a passion!! By 1990 the four 7710s were all gone and replaced by 4 of the 6 cylinder 7810s, and the TW went for a 8730.

In 1987 Moulton Manor Farms replaced their TW15 and one of their 7610s with brand new TW25 and 7710 Fords I caught up with them when they were Hauling Beet next to the farm...………...These were the good old days when all the farmers tractors did the haulage and not just a two man band with giant harvester and beet cart like we have today...……..Yawn!! I quite sure the new TW25 pictured in DOEs Fulbourn depot was Moulton Manor farms new tractor. Incidentally the Farm still has the yellow Gull trailer that looked so big behind the 7710s and I saw it behind one of their CASE Pumas (Velcourt farm nowadays, All CASE) recently and it looked tiny

These two pictures were taken in late 86 and featured a pair of Pre production Fords from the Tuddenham testing centre which is still operating today, and now includes CASE models. What I found interesting and the "big giveaway" to their identity was the registration plates. The 7610 was ploughing in a field in Moulton with a 4 furrow Ransomes and furrow press and was a "B" 1984 registered machine and then the following week in the same field with the same plough was the 7710 which was an August 85 "C" registration. Ford officially launched the Force 2 range at Smithfield Show 1985 in December, well after these two had begun their work life. The 7710 still looks terrific

Snapped the TW10 in a dealers yard near Cambs in 1986 and the 7610 2wd on the carrot run in the days before Bartletts controlled everything...…………………..As I recall this carrot company had several Fords mostly 7610s like the one below and then changed a couple to 7810 2wds briefly before selling up.

My photographic hobby really began of the back of these two pictures...………………..I had just bought myself an Olympus OM10 camera In October 86 and was looking for things to take pictures of, so I went for a drive in the country on a foggy Saturday and came across three Ford tractors parked up in sugar beet field. As a kid I had really liked tractors but then my teenage years came along with other more interesting things to pursue...….mostly in skirts...…………..but by 21 I was courting and had time for a new hobby. The tractors were an 7610 with AP cab, a brutish looking TW35 bubble cab version and a brand spanking new "C" reg Gen 2 Ford 8210...………...I was hooked!!

Your right, only the Gen 3 UH 7810, 7610 and 6810s have been really accurate, all the rest to a lesser or greater degree have fallen short.

Yes it was a great time for ag tractors for sure, the Fords were great lookers, the Deeres were very charismatic and unique with the SG2 cabs and then along came Massey in 87 with the ultra modern looking 3000/ 3600 to make the others look old fashioned!! Below are a pair of TW35 Bubble cabs, the one in the dealers yard was a year old at the time.

I only ever saw one 7910 series 1 and one 7910 series2 which must have been very rare as they bit the dust as soon as the 7810 arrived in late 87. As you can see from my first 6710 picture farmers liked them for spraying duties due to the higher ground clearance when compared to 6610s.

In 1987 Stetchworth Estates had a mostly Ford fleet on their 2000 acres which comprised of two FW60s for the heavy work, Two B Reg 1985 Ford 8210s and three newish C Reg 7610s. The 8210s above were usually doing the same jobs, either both ploughing with 5 furrows or Drilling with a 6 metre accord as seen below. I often hitched a lift on one of them during busy times to have a chat with the drivers.

The farm with the 6710 on the beet drill had lots of nice Fords back in 86/87 incl this 7610 one of a pair. Also a new 6610 sq2, new 8210 sq2, ser.1 TW15 , 2 x TW35 one old one new. All the above appeared to have R34 rear rims but the guy across the road from my house at the time had a 7610 on R38 16.9s same as 7810 UH model.

In light of the coming UH Ford releases I thought I would share some blue shots from my archives...…………………...Digital pics of the glossy originals so apologies for some shadows on them. My favourite shot first of a Ford 6710 2wd on a chafer sprayer and another one on a beet drill. I never saw a 7710 2wd locally but their were 4 or 5 6710 2wd...……………………..all 7710s were 4wd. The bubble cab 4wd 7710 on the drill belonged to Moulton manor farms in 1986, they also had 3 x 7610s at the time and a TW15 which always eluded my camera