The Tractor Twitcher

Some fanstastic machines on display and working there Bill including your little Cub, makes me think it might be worth making the trip up if I can get the time off from work. I'm of a similar opinion and that's no disrespect to those involved with "static" rallies or those that keep tractors and machinery purely for concours viewing. Newby Hall near Ripon was the first event of that type I'd attended in quite some time and I had a very enjoyable day at a great venue with everything very well laid out and there was plenty of unusual machines to take photos of. However later in the year I attended "The Festival of the Plough" working day (first time i'd been back there in a while too) and had a brilliant time drooling over all the crawlers and Roadless tractors that were busy working hard all day, the sight and sound of these machines doing what they did back in their actual working lives was just enthralling, so i'm more inclined to look for more working events and ploughing matches to attend in 2009.

Thanks for posting the link to your little MG2 Bill, amazing to see it in the condition it still is, love the hand painted sign writing, top class

Some cracking combinations there, fantastic work, 7495 looks very tidy. Regards David

John Deere 6810, 6910 and 6920s with a variety of trailers, Massey Ferguson 6465 moving a load of straw, Ford 7740 with a McConnell hedge-cutter and a Lamborghini 955DT.

Picked up the UH Claas Atles, Britains JCB Fastrac 3220 and Steyr 375 Kompakt today to fill in a few gaps in my collection.

Stunning work again Gerben, very impressive line up of blues.

It's a fantastic working weekend Bill, the year I went the themes were Saunderson, Allis Chalmers tractors and associated equipment, there were lots rather large crawlers belonging to Arthur Hinch ( i'll post the photos of these in my other topic) some nice HD series tractors. Ron Knight's harvesting equipment was amazing to watch, especially his trailed International 31T harvester being pulled by a Cat D2. Brilliant days action

Thanks for the insight chaps on these unusual machines, much appreciated. There's a few Batemans and Househams in my neck of the woods but nothing like those machines. Here's a pair of slightly more conventional self propelled sprayers from Berthoud and Tecnoma seen at Cereals 2008.

Very true mate, those days are long gone. Wow Bill, your little MG2 looks superb, absolute credit to you, lovely little crawler. Here's a couple i've seen in the past, an MG2 at a local rally and a bit bigger one ploughing at "Festival of the Plough" a few years back. And here's one of my favourite Catepillars from the past, a really tidy D5 on L.G.P tracks my Dad used on a bypass project near York many years ago.

Happy Birthday Mark. Regards David

Now for something different, a make and type of self propelled sprayer I haven't seen anywhere else other than on my trips to Cereals, the front boomed Matrots. Matrot is a far more familiar name to me when it comes to self propelled Sugar Beet harvesters ( a few operated in the past over here) and not these interesting and unusual machines. Models shown are the M24D and M44D.

You obviously have an eagle's eye to spot the one parked behind the Case Tracked loader The other backhoe loader in this topic is an old Case. However as we are on the subject of JCB backhoe loaders mate, here's my Dad's pride and joy from early nineties, an E reg 3CX which was kept in really nice order. These two photos were taken just at the bottom of the road from where I live, they show the machine on the site of a new Landrover dealership. Posing on top of one the mounds Dad landscaped out of all the waste soil to make a little adventure playground for the Landrovers.

With regard to the picture of the MF 865 combine in this topic and for those interested, here's some pictures on Robert Fearnley's website showing the Clarke brother's machines in full flight. http://www.machinery.uk.com/interestingpics/mfcombines.htm http://www.machinery.uk.com/interestingpics/mfcombines2.htm

Thanks Nick, just asked him and he said it wasn't a bad tool. He was using it in some fairly tough going on some of the quarry shelves and on odd occasions it would start to pull the rear of the machine up. Give my Dad a D8 to play on for the remainder of his working life and he'd be a happy man.

It certainly did mate, although not quite as sweet as this 300hp monster My Dad worked extensively on this big Komatsu D155 stripping top soil off in a quarrying operation about 10 miles away from where we live now around 20 years ago.

Thanks BC, appreciate the comments, here's a nice "dozer and box" combination used on a sports field site around 12 years ago. The mode of power for the scraper box coming from a tidy Komatsu D65.

Instead of my alarm clock waking me up this morning bright and early, a tidy MF 8110 with snow plough did the trick.

Thanks BC, if I can get the time off work, I'd like to go back to Little Casterton again, it was a brilliant day with some superb old harvesting equipment being used, and some rather nice crawlers and old Saunderson tractors too.

Look forward to seeing those in the near future Sean. Here's a pair of lovingly restored Massey Harris Combine Harvesters on show. First of all Ron Knight's 21 at the Little Casterton working weekend, the only time i've been, a few years ago now, some amazing old machines being properly worked and finally a 31 on display at a local rally a several years ago.

The only ones I've seen recently were the fleet of machines operated by the Clarke brothers in Norfolk in Classic Tractor magazine, very impressive.

They do look impressive, don't know of any others operating over my way, aside from the one mentioned which resides near York. A couple farms a little bit closer to home did run the smaller 665 model, but they've since been replaced. I do enjoy the style and lines of the older combines, not as keen on the curves of the more modern machines.

I'm afraid I haven't mate I do the know the whereabouts of one about 20 miles away from where I live, belongs to farmer/contractor. Hopefully i'll see it working and some more on my travels and get some photos this summer.

Very very nice with those wheels fitted, really look the part. Regards David

That looks superb Nick, absolute beast of a loader tractor.

Thank you BC, continuing the "through the ages" theme, here's a group of Massey Ferguson harvesters, starting with a bagger version of a 31? seen at a working day near Northallerton, followed by a much newer 865 seen in a dealer's yard near the coast. Final set of photos of Activa, Beta and Cerea machines taken at Cereals 2008.