One of the benefits of visiting a farm to sail boats or play trains is that you see some fascinating machinery.
I was in a barn marvelling at the size and complexity of a combine harvester (sons of the soil will think this odd, but to me they are fascinating) when I found this little machine getting dusty beside it.
But what is it?
I'm assuming some sort of engine should hang on the back, driving the wheels via some bands around those pulleys. The seat looks a bit basic but the foot pedals are pretty sophisticated. At first I though it was a toy of some sort being about the sized of a large pedal car, but not with these.
So, tractor fans, what is this? Answers in the comments please.
I've asked a man who should know. Personally I wouldn't discount the home built toy option but two others are some sort of horticultural tractor, or, and this is a long shot, something that wasn't designed to have an engine but instead was meant to act as a clutch for belt driven machinery?
ReplyDeleteI would agree with James, looks like a horticultural tractor from a size point of view. If the placement of the engine is behind the 'seat' it suggests some stability issues as there is not a lot of weight forward of the driven axle. The lack of a rigid link like a 3 point suggests quite a limited capacity, depending on the weight of the engine. Anything impeding the trailer or other towed implement IMHO would make the tractor flip up/over with the driven axle as pivot point; to some extent dependent on the power of the engine...
ReplyDeleteIs it home made? Possibly. It may also have been manufactured (possibly a few, by a local maker?
Following an idea of Brian Clarke's, might it be something like the self propelled plough in the header picture here? http://horticulturalploughing.yolasite.com/#
ReplyDeleteBad James. I've got to catch a train and am now fascinated by that website. There IS a plough just like those in the photos outside the barn. Maybe there is a connection.
ReplyDeletePhil, having just moved to an ex-small holding that site is very tempting...
ReplyDeleteThe front wheels and steering look like they are from a go kart, and I wonder if that is an electric motor under the seat, the bracket at the back would take a car battery nicely without tipping it over. It looks to me like a home made toy, perhaps to teach young farmers of the future before they progress to the Massey Ferguson?
ReplyDelete