Old Tractors

People like to collect things.  In the case of farmers, old tractors are often the thing.  We went to the Prairie Village threshing event at Madision, South Dakota, a few weeks ago.  There was a parade of proud folk trotted out their tractors, some ancient, many gussied up, and many relics from the early days of farm mechanization.

John Deere tractors were the featured variety and came first.   The first tractor in this column has metal wheels which my knowledgeable father-in-law said would give the driver quite a pounding, a real rattle-trap.

There were many green tractors -  the John Deeres in themselves took a long time.

I'd never seen a tractor like this and I can't believe it was practical although it should have had power.  And watching it move, it didn't look a bit nimble.

The line of non-green tractors was impressive too, lead by this behomith.

Many looked like they were for show.  I like this one because looked like it was on stilts and had a nice paint job.

This was one of the most garish tractor outfits but my father-in-law assured me this is what the original paint job looked like.

Some tractors carried the whole family.

This is another old bone-rattler.  I'm sure this was an advancement over horses but rubber tires would have helped.

These old giants really dominate any parade although I can't see them plowing a field.

This is anotheer kerosene burner.  For someone like me who adores big machinery, this is quite the contraption.  But where would I store it when I wasn't playing with it, how would I haul it, or how could I afford the fuel.  This is another family tractor.

I was looking forward to seeing a steam engine but none were running, except for this one.  I find tractor history fascinating and although we were a bit tractored out, it was still good fun.