Farm tractors - Great Britain: books - history and models

Tractors in Britain

Chronicles the changing fortunes of the British tractor industry, but also looks at the impact that imported machines from America and Europe had on UK farms.
While the main focus is on the tractor in agriculture, emphasis is also given to its wider application with separate chapters for industrial machines and crawlers.

Stuart Gibbard's authoritative text traces the chronological development of the tractors while considering their working environment and the jobs they did.

British Tractors - A History of Tractors Made or Used in Britain

A survey of all the most significant tractor types to be built or operated in Britain from the early years of the 20th century to the present day. It is arranged by manufacturer, with a short history and survey of the tractor manufacturer and its models. The book is heavily illustrated throughout with examples of significant tractor models through the ages.

Some of these tractor names still survive today in the form of the many thousands of historical vehicles that are preserved and can be seen at shows - often in action or in agricultural competitions.
Although written by an expert, this is a highly accessible and affordable title which will appeal to both enthusiasts and those with a general interest in the subject.

British Tractors 1945-65

From Allis-Chalmers to Vickers, the A-Z of the UK tractor industry in the years between 1945 and 1965 - an era when Britain mechanised the world's farms - is a wonderful story of personal endeavour and pioneering innovation.

It was a golden age of British tractors as new manufacturers and new models emerged to meet a growing demand for greater agricultural mechanisation; a demand shaped by the events surrounding the end of the Second World War. Manpower on the farms was short, and the situation was made more critical by the US Government's decision to terminate the wartime Lend-Lease agreement, resulting in a restriction on imports of wheeled tractors from the USA.

Both new and existing British manufacturers, including the famous names of David Brown, Ferguson, Fordson and Nuffield, rose to meet the challenge. However, American firms, such as International Harvester, Massey-Harris and Minneapolis-Moline, were determined not to be left on the sidelines and managed to circumvent the import restrictions by establishing their own plants in the UK.
The result was an eclectic mix of tractor makers - from vast factories engaged in mass production to low-volume backyard enterprises that targeted the niche markets.

The writer, a universally acknowledged expert in the subject whose work has been widely published in books and magazines, has drawn together all the diverse strands of the story to reveal a rich tapestry of engineering achievement. He explains how the rapid expansion of the industry was driven by the growing demands of a market that had doubled in size within just three years.

This book presents the story from a fascinating viewpoint, using the manufacturers' brochures and sales material of the period to reveal each tractor model in colourful and captivating detail. There are more than 400 images in all, giving a unique flavour of the times and an impression of the features that the firms were highlighting to promote their products.

Iron Harvests of the Field : The Making of Farm Machinery in Britain Since 1800

An inspiring story of technological achievement and of industrial success, as farmers and engineers brought iron and steel to fields which had - previously been the domain of locally made timber implements and power provided by horses.
Agricultural technology moved on, inexorably, from broad-cast seed and the sound of the threshing flail, via the portable steam engine and the threshing machine, right through to the modern world of giant tractors - each with the power of 200 horses - combine harvesters and - impressively efficient farming methods.

This book traces the broad sweep of the whole industry over 200 years, looking at many individual companies and products to explain how and why the farm machinery industry developed in the way it did. Important individual machines are described and illustrated in detail.