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Agriland
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Agriland
Rarities and runners at Kerry classic tractor auction
Auctions of vintage and classic tractors are often a melting pot of all that was successful and much of that which was not. A sale to be held in Co. Kerry on August 23 delightfully exemplifies this principle with a scattering of rarities in the lots that may not have made millions for the makers but are fascinating details in the history of the farm tractor. Genuine examples of the Ford 7810 Silver Jubilee always attract strong interest. There are also plenty of the old favourites, including a Ford Silver Jubilee 7810 complete with pewter model, which alone is worth a considerable sum. The Ford 5000 was the workhorse of many a farm, but this example as been treated well Another Ford worthy of attention is an original-looking 5000, which is described as being exceptionally clean - and it does indeed have an air of honesty about it which cannot be ignored. Other popular machines that are always in demand include a pair of Mini tractors from the BMC/Nuffield stable. The BMC Mini and Nuffield 4/25 date from the mid-1960s and, although quite capable little machines, sales never reached the hoped for levels The BMC Mini tractor was a 15hp model with a 948cc diesel, by all accounts it was a good little tractor but sales were slow due to the lack of power. The Nuffield 4/25, powered by a 1,500cc diesel, was then produced to address this issue and, although it had more power, production lasted just two years. No auction is complete without a selection of Massey Ferguson tractors, and at Tralee there are some highly desirable examples bearing Harry Ferguson's name. The first Ferguson System tractor from which all other conventional tractors have inherited their basic design principle From the early days come a pair of Ferguson Browns; these are the bedrock of the Ferguson legend, being built by David Brown to Harry's specification. A total of 1,356 were built in the 1930s and surviving examples are rare. So to find two up for sale on the same day is an unusual occurrence, but one that should be taken advantage of. The Massey Ferguson 25 was the Beauvais-built successor to the Ferguson 20. It received mixed reviews here in Ireland, although a significant number were sold. Another notable pair of tractors, the left of these two MF 25's had a higher spec than the standard Irish import model on the right Again there are a pair available, one being a Dutch import with several extras that the standard model sold into Ireland did not enjoy. A little known slice of Massey Ferguson history is represented by a MF 821 from a Massey Harris factory opened in 1926 in the north of France. The Massey Ferguson 821 was produced in the company's other French factory at Marquette-Les-Lille, 200km north of Beauvais Responsible for producing both tractors and combines, the Marquette-Les-Lille factory assembled the MF 821 (sometimes known as the MF 21) from 1959-1967. This example has a 20hp Hanomag diesel powering it, although Peugeot engines were also fitted. Moving on from France to the German tractor factory at Mannheim, there are several examples of machines from both the Lanz era and the period immediately after John Deere's purchase of the company. Four nicely kept Lanz bulldogs, all in good running order, will be going under the hammer Four well-kept Lanz Bulldogs are on offer, all from the same vendor who obviously bestowed a great deal of attention upon them The John Deere 710 had a 50hp Dubuque-made engine but retained the Lanz ten speed gearbox Alongside these are two early Mannheim John Deeres, a JD 710 and a JD 200 while a JD 303, presented in vineyard form here, was assembled at Saran, back in France Built at Saran in France, the 303 is a rare example of John Deere fitting third party engines, in this case a 36hp unit from Standard Motors France was David Brown's largest export market but Germany also became important, and to help fill the gap for smaller machines the company co-operated with Wahl Maschinenfabrik to produce the DB 750. TDB 750 comes complete with side mounted mower, a later DB 1212 stands behind it The tractor had a sleeved-down DB engine and front end coupled to a ZF rear that could drive a mid-mounted mower, which were still popular in the early 1960s. Only 279 were built and sold exclusively in Germany making this a rare find in Ireland, although there are others about. Putting a V8 engine into a big tractor is common enough, but SAME did something which is probably quite unique - they used a V4 in an everyday tractor. Built from 1967-1972, the Leone had four-wheel drive with eight forward and four reverse gears as standard and produced 67hp from the air-cooled engine. The SAME Leona is a unique tractor that deserves a wider recognition than it presently has Giving it a V configuration may well have been an attempt to increase cooling efficiency, for the angle between the cylinders is not great. However, the layout does give it two exhaust pipes and a rather unique engine sound, making it a very attractive machine altogether. The auction will commence at 9am on Saturday, August 23 in the yard of Clifford's Tractor Parts, Tralee, Co Kerry. An international 84 Hydro with 65hp is also in the mix alongside a Case MX 135 The lots are drawn from Colm Clifford's own private collection, plus several other vendors from Co. Kerry and beyond. The auctioneer is Michael Doyle of Co. Carlow and there are expected to be 55-60 lots on the day.
Belfast Telegraph
17-05-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
From a man who set fire to the White House to an upside down lighthouse: Explore the hidden gems around Northern Ireland
Michael Fewer's new book delves into the history behind interesting sites on the island of Ireland Along the road between Rostrevor and Warrenpoint stands a particularly impressive monument, an obelisk that reaches 30m into the sky, which was erected in memory of a local man, Major General Robert Ross. He was first noted as a commander of a British force that, with their allies, the Russians, helped to defeat the Dutch Batavians in 1799. He also fought against Napoleon at Alexandria in 1804, at Heida in 1806, at Corunna in 1809 and in the Pyrenees in 1813. He then went west to America to take part in the 1812–1815 war between the British and the United States. There, in 1814, he was involved in the defeat of the US army at the Battle of Bladensburg, which has been de- scribed as 'the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms'. The panicked disorganised retreat of American forces, including President Madison and the rest of the federal government, became known as the Bladensburg Races. The American defeat resulted in the taking of the city of Washington and the setting fire to the White House by Ross's men. The Library of Congress was also destroyed by the British. Later, during the Battle of Baltimore, Ross was killed. His body was preserved in a barrel of 129 gallons of Jamaican rum and shipped to Nova Scotia, where he was buried. This obelisk was erected in 1826 in his honour, on the site where he and his wife had planned to build their home. It was cold and overcast on December 31, 1909 when a small group of people in a meadow in Hillsborough Park watched 25-year-old Harry Ferguson sit into an elaborate contraption of wires and spruce frames covered with linen, mounting a 35-horsepower engine. Outside the town of Hillsborough, opposite his former home, today you will find there the Harry Ferguson Memorial Garden. It features a bronze statue of the man standing at a farm gate with a spanner in his hand: a very low-key memorial for a true Irish genius.
