At an event packed with iconic tractors it’s perhaps surprising that the rarest bits of kit are those which failed to find favour with farmers in their time. But that’s exactly what happened with the Ferguson tipping trailer, one of which won the best implement in show.
John Jones found his 1946 Mark 1 three-tonne tipping trailer two years ago, and given its rarity, couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to buy it. “It came from a farm in Wales and was a barn find which I heard about through word of mouth,” he says. “It was a lucky find, as it had all of the mechanism to hitch it to the tractor, and it’s very original.”
The hitching mechanism was cleverly designed at the time, with two rods attaching to the back axle via a cross bar and an angled telescopic attachment to transfer the weight. Two retractable legs carried the trailer when un-hooked. However, the system was made obsolete almost overnight when Harry Ferguson’s modern pick-up hitch system took off, and only around 1,000 were built. “After a time, farmers got fed up with the more complex connections,” says John.
However, the hydraulic tipping system was incredibly innovative at the time, transforming farm work hauling and tipping grain and other crops. The tailgate drops down, while the sides can also be removed – and the hydraulic system can all be operated from the tractor seat. Given that John’s trailer was in original condition, he simply had to put new timbers on the floor and tidy the body, sanding and oiling the wood and original metalwork.
He exhibited the trailer on the back of his 1948 Ferguson TEA 20, purchased three or four years ago from Cheshire. “I’m only the third owner and it’s totally original, it’s even got its original tyres,” he says. “I’ve just oiled it and added some lights, a mirror and rev counter.”
Those minor additions are far rarer in their own right than the tractor – as they were optional extras at the time few farmers opted to buy them. For example, the lighting kit is worth about £1,500, the rev counter £1,000 and the optional handbrake, made by Western Engineering at Delabole, Cornwall, £700. “The accessories are really nice to find.”
John has been interested in classic tractors for 30-35 years, and likes to collect accessories and implements alongside the tractors themselves. “When I was younger, my father and I bred and showed Welsh Mountain ponies. We needed a tractor for the stables, so I bought a diesel-powered Little Grey Ferguson,” he explains. “It was my first tractor and I regretted it when I sold it; when the new buyers sold it 10 years later I bought it back.”
In total he has eight tractors at home near Caernarfon, Wales, including a 1941 Ford Ferguson, his 1955 Little Grey Fergie and numerous implements. These include a very rare Ferguson welder, a dump skip, low volume Ferguson sprayer and a 30cwt steel-bodied Ferguson tipping trailer. A regular exhibitor at the Tractor Show, this is the fourth year in a row that he’s won prizes – last year being with a sawbench on the back of this same tractor. “I love the chase of trying to find things, and I love showing rare things,” notes John. “As time goes by it only gets harder to find them.”
- Save the date – next year’s event will be on the 8th and 9th November 2025
- For more information visit www.newarkvintagetractorshow.com
