Hairy Bikers and Other Petrol Heads

[Osgood]

One of my old colleagues used to worked on a good sized local farm as a youngster where all the ploughing was done by one old boy, in the winter, using an F type (or very early N) with exhaust pipe under the back axle.
He wore a Great War trench coat and to keep even warmer stuffed a rubber pipe from the end of the exhaust up the bottom of his coat.
Terry reckoned he went home at the end of the day with a rather black neck.......

The last photo, is that Tony (@Osgood) on the LHS ploughing continuously in one spot to dig himself a deep hole?

Nooo.
I know a wonderful old boy whose ambition is to buy a small farm.
He intends to put a tank of TVO (seems that AVTUR makes a decent smell-free alternative to modern paraffin) on his porch next to his rocking chair and get all the cultivations and farm work done by his mates with their vintage tractors and tackle - reckons they'll be really chuffed to do it just for free fuel!

 

[Richard Gawler]

The last photo, is that Tony (@Osgood) on the LHS ploughing continuously in one spot to dig himself a deep hole?

The chap wearing the red hat seemed to be an official photographer. He kept moving around from place to place rather than turning on one spot, as if part of his role was to get into everyone else's shots. As in my first photo.

 

[Osgood]

Woah - Fordson tractors? Chelmsford? What's all that got to do with railways then?

https://flic.kr/p/bcnVG4

 

[Richard Gawler]

Twenty years too late for me, but a good prototype for the modeller undecided between gauges or wishing to drop in alternate wheelsets to support both. Or indeed wanting something really different.

 

[Brian McKenzie]

Woah - Fordson tractors? . . . What's all that got to do with railways then?

Fordson logging tractor with drive shafts to bogies fore and aft, providing good adhesion when loaded. A common arrangement in New Zealand many decades ago (displayed at Tautuku, Catlins area).

CAD underway:

 

[Rob R]

Woah - Fordson tractors? Chelmsford? What's all that got to do with railways then?

https://flic.kr/p/bcnVG4

There used to be something similar at West Horndon (LT&SR), not Brown & Tawse but 'tother place. Long before I had a camera.

 

[Overseer]

Woah - Fordson tractors? Chelmsford? What's all that got to do with railways then?

https://flic.kr/p/bcnVG4

Fordson Major?

Victorian Railways built 30 something rail tractors using the curvaceous Fordson Major tractor on 4 wheel wagon underframes, then more with the updated style Fordson tractors. This is an HO scale model built from a modified Steam Era Models kit (modified to represent one of the earlier ones with slightly different cab to the kit one). They even had springs.

 

[simond]

The “tractor on a standard underframe” vehicles are chain driven, presumably using the tractor rear axle with diff locked, and utilising the tractor brakes too.

How was Brian’s curious articulated thing arranged?

 

[Richard Gawler]

The “tractor on a standard underframe” vehicles are chain driven, presumably using the tractor rear axle with diff locked, and utilising the tractor brakes too.

We can see some kind of a brake drum on the rear axle of Old Essex Girl.

 

[Brian McKenzie]

How was Brian’s curious articulated thing arranged?

An additional gearbox under the reversing lever not only allowed all forward gears to be used in reverse, but powered a longitudinal shaft with bevel gears to the axles. This same shaft was extended out to the log bogies to power those load carrying axles. Timber drawbars connected the bogies beneath the powered shaft.

The unfinished CAD below is of a similar unit, but incorporating a McCormick Deering tractor - showing the longitudinal drive shaft (not present in the previous CAD model).

 

[Richard Gawler]

The steering column looks staggeringly dangerous to me. Perhaps the steering wheel was retained to provide some protection to the driver, and to provide a hand-hold during rough shunting?

 

[simond]

Thanks Brian, so there's no drive to the unit on which the tractor prime mover is mounted?

The articulated bogies presumably have a similar structure with a bevel / worm drive to the axles?

I'm with Richard about the steering column, why not simply remove it and plate over the hole?

 

[simond]

We can see some kind of a brake drum on the rear axle of Old Essex Girl.

might be, might be the sprockets for the rear-to-front axle chain?

Tractors frequently have oil immersed brakes within the axle, I assumed that would be ideal here too, possbly plus a set of tread brakes such as a normal brake van might have.

 

[Osgood]

The first Lake & Elliott tractor loco:

https://flic.kr/p/2mFHFmf

And as it is now, restored:

https://flic.kr/p/cwHLQj

By the look of this second view there is a drum brake outboard of the inter-axle sprocket on front axle, connected to that lever by driver.

Inter-axle sprocket/chain drive rear to front axle is on RH side (facing forward), tractor axle to rear axle drive is on LH side.

Reckon tractor brakes would also be available to use as Simon's suggestion.
Fordson Major had independent drum brakes (both pedals can be linked together as one) each side on 1st cross reduction shaft (parallel with axle) on extensions of the spur gear reduction drive onto axle shafts.
Modern tractors mainly have inboard oil-immersed disc brakes acting direct on axle shafts.
The Fordson's drum brakes would be likely be plenty good enough to lock the wheels up.

I imagine there might be some kind of size designation for the (unusually small) buffers (but I'm not going there).

 

[Brian McKenzie]

Thanks Brian, so there's no drive to the unit on which the tractor prime mover is mounted?

The articulated bogies presumably have a similar structure with a bevel / worm drive to the axles?

I'm with Richard about the steering column, why not simply remove it and plate over the hole?

The tractor unit has powered axles. The reversing gearbox at rear is spur geared down to the principle longitudinal shaft. More pinions connect this shaft to another below linking the axles with bevels. The bogies have the same arrangement off the drive shaft.




Sorry, the incomplete CADs are not yet showing the full mechanism. I'd like to complete them - but the tractors are hundreds of miles away in opposite directions - when I never have enough measurements!

In use, I'd expect the steering column had either a wheel, or maybe a handle for the driver to hang on to. The ride along wooden rails traversing often boggy terrain, and sandwiched between large logs, undoubtedly had its moments. There were also competing designs from others.

 

[Osgood]

Bit like an internal combustion Shay!

 

[Richard Gawler]

might be, might be the sprockets for the rear-to-front axle chain?

By the look of this second view there is a drum brake outboard of the inter-axle sprocket on front axle, connected to that lever by driver.

There is a clearer view of the front sprocket and what looks like an adjacent brake here:

https://flic.kr/p/ajBDjH

So maybe the shadowy disc we see in the first photo brought to our attention by @Osgood (post 1023) is both a sprocket and, behind it, a brake.

 

[simond]

Surely a sprocket, and a flanged drum of some sort.

I don’t see the paraphernalia associated with a drum backplate (though the flange, maybe…? Though I’d have expected it to not be between the drum and the sprocket) but a band brake would make lots of sense in this application.

atb
Simon

 

[Osgood]

BRAKE, BAND, DRUM - its all here folks

 

[Eastsidepilot]

Now that's what I call a tractor