Tractor & Machinery Magazine Tractor & Machinery July 2013 Vorige editie

It could become depressing if we kept telling the stories of the companies that used to build
tractors in Britain, but don’t any longer. There are so many to choose from apart from anything else.
However, they do/did each have an interesting story behind them and many
of their models are still revered thanks to preservationists or the fact that they were so good that they are still at work.
So this month because the sun’s shining and it looks as though summer might actually make an appearance, we feel mentally strong enough to recall International Harvester and its
work over here. Three writers consider the company until it ended production in Britain.
To give International fans full value for money, another feature this month considers the low-spec version of its best-selling crawler. For some the BTD-640 was a cheap way of buying the
fantastic BTD-6.
I had an e-mail from a lady the other week who said her partner’s collection of tractors was well worth a visit. So we went along. Charles Hughes has gathered together Majors and
Major-based derivatives because those were the tractors around the yard in his childhood. You can judge whether we spent our time well on page 27.
Still on the family theme, an MF 35X was certainly made to earn its keep and didn’t have an easy life. It was the owner’s grandson who eventually gave it some tlc, as you can read on
page 85.
And if you like Brunswick green do not miss our feature ion a Scottish collector whose collection of Field-Marshalls is a marvel to behold.
I hope you’ll fi nd plenty to read in this month’s book as you swing gently in your hammock soaking up the heat of yet another sunny summer’s day. Martin Oldaker