THE NEWBIE - When dark and rainy November arrives, nothing feels nicer than sitting down in your cozy home with the latest issue of Antique Power magazine, guaranteed to offer plenty of brightly colored tractors among those featured. If published back in the late 1800s and early years of the 20th century, however, Antique Power might have looked more like the November landscape outside your window than the artist’s palette it resembles today.
Read MoreTHE NEWBIE - Antique Power magazine articles often refer to a particular tractor’s horsepower or other ratings as determined by the Nebraska Tractor Test results. You might wonder what “Nebraska Tractor Test” means and how those ratings came to be established and accepted everywhere. The origins and evolution of this testing are an interesting part of tractor history, with worldwide consequences.
Read MoreTHE NEWBIE - There are many approaches to buying or selling antique tractors, including auctions; if you have never used that method, it can seem intimidating. Many fine auction businesses advertise in Antique Power magazine, and I called Mecum Auctions in Walworth, Wisconsin, to learn more about how auctions work, because Mecum offers approximately 15,000 collectible cars, motorcycles, boats, and more, per year.
Read MoreWhat is wrong with this picture? Youve seen a Farmall H before, havent you? Its the right shade of red. It even says IH McCormick Farmall H right there on the hood. Look closely, because it is the subject of a two-page story in the July/August 2015 issue of Antique Power magazine.
Read MoreTHE NEWBIE - The three-point hitch is now standard equipment on almost all tractors, but back in 1926, when patented in Great Britain by an Irish engineer named Harry Ferguson, it revolutionized the way implements were attached to tractors. Ferguson had visualized the many advantages to be gained by creating a rigid connection between a tractor and plow, so he experimented with this new linkage technology. Soon, his “Ferguson System” for attaching specially designed implements started its climb from obscurity to the status of an important milestone in tractor history.
Read MoreLATEST ISSUE - The 1934 McCormick-Deering WD-40 on the September/October 2015 issue of Antique Power magazine is one of three machines McCormick-Deering produced in advance of regular WD-40 manufacture. The owner has thoroughly researched and documented its history, and he believes its “503” serial number makes it the third of those three pre-production units. I enjoyed photographing it for this cover story, as well as visiting with its restorers. The tractor’s owner, Eric Best, wrote the story that accompanies my photos.
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