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Whats the ultimate Ford TW??


bluegreen

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Well finally one of the big model makers (UH) is going to make the iconic Ford TW tractor and they will probably produce one of every conceivable model Ford TW ever produced ;D

So which of all the big TWs (the real size machine) is the definitive one in your view? Maybe its a 30 series or a County version.

In my opinion I think the generation one  TW35 bubble cab (1984) gets my vote by a whisker from its gen2  Qcab TW35 replacement.  Why?  Because I think it was big, powerful and very popular around my area when I was a lad :)  The earlier TW30 was a rarity and most farmers in my area went for the smaller TW20 in the late 70s but then traded up in power to the bubble cab TW35s in 1983/4.

However JD started eating into blue market share in the mid 80s with 4450/4650 models and the TW35 gen2 didnt do as well as its predecessor :(

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A subjective question, but the definitive TW35 for me would have to be the TW35 that Britains made. The County was a different beast, and thanks to Britains the wrong colour, whereas the TW35 was the biggest tractor on the model farm (for quite a while - did it take until the Magnum/T8040 era for it to be out gunned?) that looked right.

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If its the BIG BIG TWs you mean. It has to be the Super Q cab TW-35. 

Cause it packed the most power of all.

But if its any TW big or small id say the  SQ cab TW-15 .

Reason being is cause it was a very flexable tractor for all purposes i spose. While the bigger TWs were not really ideal for road work ,they were more suited to field work at tilage or powering a trailed silage harvester . But the TW-15 packed enough power to do all types of work be it on the road or in the field.

A local contractor near me has a TW-25 which he once used to power his trailed silage harvester till he got himself a Claas Jag. So the big TW is now only used to harvest beet & also used for round bailing. He never used it for road work & was never seen to pull a silage trailer when the  Claas Jag  came on the scene. He uses a few NH TMs ,a TW-15  & strangely enough a TW-15 powered FORD 7700 for the road work. I think a a certain few forum members know this contractor. ;):)

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for me it would be the TW30 ;)  it was a big tractor in its day and stood out from everything else.

Likewise  :) 

When the original TW30 went on sale, it was huge compared with almost every other conventional tractor available at the time - I seem to think only John Deere had a tractor in the same league (4840; and in the UK at least, Deeres were still pretty uncommon at that time). We were really only used to seeing up to 150hp in conventional form at the time - bigger tractors were almost always artic steer or similar; at 184 DIN hp, the TW30 was a massive step up for 'normal' tractors.

When the TW30 launched in 1979, the biggest conventional Massey was the 1155, which had been discontinued the previous year, and its replacement (2720) wasn't avilable until 1982 (and that still left MF 40hp short of Ford!), and the largest conventional International in the UK was the 1455 (although we did get the 5288 in 1981).

By the time the TW range were facelifted to fit in with the smaller 'Series 10' styling,  the TW35 was no longer at the top of the tree, and by the time the TW35 'Force II" came along, Ford was already starting to be left behind by the likes of JD and International.  By the time they evolved into the 8*30 series, JD and International were way in front powerwise.

TW - iconic - certainly.

TW30 - definitive - definately.

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living down here in devon you would never see anything that big,seeing a ford 7600,7610 was big for down here,but i do remember getting the single sheet leaflets of the tw's,and the only one i can really remember was the ford tw 30 in the snow,cant rember the other 2 leaflets of the 10 and 20,and remembering what a big old girl she was so for me yeah the tw 30

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Every TW variation in my head could be considered "ultimate" even the smaller models, I think they look the business. Mostly definitely my favourite range of tractors, the same goes for the later 30 series machines. This was largely down to childhood memories of the real machines working on farms and for contractors locally and my affinity for all things blue oval. As a kid I was always brought up to believe the TW-35 was the biggest and most impressive tractor out there, irrespective of any other make or model of tractor available from other manufacturers at the time. I still remember with vivid enthusiam one particular birthday morning opening my presents and discovering at the top of the pile a Britains Power Farm Super Q TW-35 and the implements to go with it. If I was to pick a favourite however, it would have to be the bubble cabbed TW-35. If Universal Hobbies do decide to produce most them then so be it. I can't wait to see the custom builders get their talented hands on them too. A cabinet filled with all things TW related would definitely provide me with plenty of collecting satisfaction.

Power Farming centre spread, July 1984.

P1130403.jpg

York Machinery Sale, March 2011.

P1030984-Copy.jpg

Blue Force Stand, Newark Tractor and Heritage Stand, November 2011.

P1120221-1.jpg

P1120240.jpg

Bubble cabbed TW-25 that continues to provide active service on a local arable farm behind a pair of more modern John Deere tractors.

DSC04716.jpg

DSC04717.jpg

 

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....I'd love to see a TW-15 in detailed model form too.

4WD example photographed by my Dad at a local ploughing match in the early '90s.

TW15_0001.jpg

Whilst I photographed this 2wd version at a local show around eight years ago. This tractor was featured in a very early edition of Classic Tractor in the "Farm Favourites" section.

TW15_0002.jpg

TW15_0003.jpg

TW15_0004.jpg

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I like the power farming article, wonder if those articles could be re-used in something like Model Farmer?

It makes for a nice bit of "wall art" Barry, might yet frame it. It was given to me by a friend a few years back. Just a shame I don't have the rest of the magazine or article to go with it.

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Nice post Walter and good to see you to have the 1984  TW35 at the top of the heap ;D

Great pics as well and if I remember correctly the original TW35s on a 82 Y reg had chrome window surrounds on the back that I disliked but from 84 onwards we got the much nicer black rubber surrounds that clearly can be seen amongst your pictures :)  A small detail I know but its often small design changes that can enhance the appearance of anything ;)  Just like a wig would  on my bald head ;D  or maybe not :-\

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Nice post Walter and good to see you to have the 1984  TW35 at the top of the heap ;D

Great pictures as well and if I remember correctly the original TW35s on a 82 Y reg had chrome window surrounds on the back that I disliked but from 84 onwards we got the much nicer black rubber surrounds that clearly can be seen amongst your pictures :)  A small detail I know but its often small design changes that can enhance the appearance of anything ;)  Just like a wig would  on my bald head ;D  or maybe not :-\

Thanks Bluegreen, appreciated. I certainly prefer the appearance of the bubble cabbed examples, especially the TW-15,25 and 35. That said a local contractor used to run whole fleet of earlier versions headed by a TW-30 for use on a large Hesston baler. It made for one very impressive yard full of tractors.

Some nice pictures there Walter. That cutaway of the  Q cab  TW-35 looks intersesting.  ;):)

Thanks Justin. Rather pleased to have that little slice of TW literature to go alongside my photographs too. :)

Speaking of which, here's a rather tidy looking TW-20 I "snapped" at the Newby Hall vintage rally back in 2008.

DSC01347.jpg

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can we include county tw's!!!!!!!!  :P

Why not......just in need of finding an 1884 to photograph now. I did once have a Britains yellow County on my carpet farm, fairly sure it cost my parents less than £10. I've yet to bring myself to part with the pennies required to own one nowadays. :)

Here's Gerard Enderby's immaculate short and long nosed 1474 tractors that I photographed at the Millenium Show at Newark.

County_0002.jpg

County_0001.jpg

Also..........."Tweaked" TW-30 used for tractor pulling in Denmark.

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Keep them photos coming!!! :P

Thanks Justin. I have a few photographs of 30 series tractors and some of the smaller similar styled Fords, 7710, 7910, 8100, 8200 and 8210 etc.

However here's the last of my TW photographs ( I think ), a TW-10 that I photographed on Thorngumbald Y.F.C's charity road run on Easter Monday of this year.

P1050617.jpg

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If its the BIG BIG TWs you mean. It has to be the Super Q cab TW-35. 

Cause it packed the most power of all.

But if its any TW big or small id say the  SQ cab TW-15 .

Reason being is cause it was a very flexable tractor for all purposes i spose. While the bigger TWs were not really ideal for road work ,they were more suited to field work at tilage or powering a trailed silage harvester . But the TW-15 packed enough power to do all types of work be it on the road or in the field.

A local contractor near me has a TW-25 which he once used to power his trailed silage harvester till he got himself a Claas Jag. So the big TW is now only used to harvest beet & also used for round bailing. He never used it for road work & was never seen to pull a silage trailer when the  Claas Jag  came on the scene. He uses a few NH TMs ,a TW-15  & strangely enough a TW-15 powered FORD 7700 for the road work. I think a a certain few forum members know this contractor. ;):)

Know them well Justin,If they only had a 7810.

Best TW of all time would have to be the TW-15 II SQ-Why-Because they were very manouverable and Fairly Powerfull for there time,They were slow but If they only had the power of a 25 they would of been the ultimate Tractor.Heres a Picture of one

Image021.jpg

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