But we can see no real reason not to. What is the good of having tractors, machinery and the means to transport them if you don’t use it?
So on Saturday the 5th of September Ann, Dotty, Gwyneth, Rover and I set off for Brimfield and our yearly plough day with Mark, Edward, Brian and his two lads, Ian and Rhys.
We made our way across England at a steady 50 mph, checking at hourly intervals to see that all the ties were holding and to give Rover a little break and it was mid afternoon when we reached the junction of the Motorways M6 and M42. Then a short run down the 42 to meet Mike and deliver his piece of “rocking horse manure” in the shape of a brand new, ex dealer stock, never been fitted to a tractor, DAR valve that he is going to trade for the extra valve chest for his Major.
I will break off hear just to say how great the people are who we have met through this site. Mike and Kath made us welcome with a much needed cup of tea and we had at least half an hour putting the world to rights and explaining how to cook squashes and spaghetti marrows. Then off once more to Leominster and Don and Mabel’s farm to meet Edward and the tractors. Once again it was into the farmhouse kitchen and more tea with another rather special group of people.
The road from Worcester to Leominster is very twisty and has lots of steep inclines but Rover copes with it all with little fuss. Just the occasional black smoke screen as he shifts down the box and puts his shoulder to the wheel.
This is a new Rover to me; we have only had him since February when the first one met with a car parked without lights on a bend, in the dark, on a slippery surface. A slightly untimely end but it means that I now have a slightly newer model with air con., cruise control and real leather seats. Oh and a fully automatic transmission. It has been many years since I have driven an auto. But we are now used to it and this was the first long trip towing a Dexta and plough. Practise for our trip to Holland next week with at least two and possibly a third Ransomes ploughs.
We parked Dotty and Gwynith in one of Don’s sheds and drove off to our hotel through the narrow, winding country lanes, noting on the way that there is to be a horse show on a smallholding near to the farm. We always have problems as we move the tractors to Brimfield and Sunday morning was to be no exception.
Sunday dawns bright and clear. Its going to be a beautiful days ploughing. We hitch up Rover again whilst Mark, Edward and their team hitch up trailers of implements behind their two lorries. The lorries each have two tractors, on Marks one there are two Allis Bs and on Edwards the P6 E27N and “My” petrol Dexta.
So we set off. Two lorries with trailers and Rover and Dotty. We had not travelled a mile when we grind to a halt to let a long procession of horses, riders, cars and horse boxes cross the road junction and into their show area.
Then the fun really starts! A bit further on we meet a big 4X4 with horse box in tow. Remember I said the roads were narrow. The lorries can just about make it down them but they completely fill the road leaving little room between the wheels and the ditch edge on either side. Luckily we meet this 4x4 right next to a gateway leading to a village hall car park. Mark, Edward and Brian suggest that the posh lady driving, pulls onto the car park and let us past. An argument ensues when the lady suggests we all back up the road about a mile and a half and find a gateway that we can pull over in. Deadlock! By this time she has behind her about ten 4x4s all pulling horse boxes so Mark suggests that if she wants to get to the horse show with her friends, all she has to do is pull onto the car park. Eventually sense prevails and the car park fills with horse people and we can move past only to meet another group about 2 miles further on. In this case one person has just driven past a lay-by that would allow us all to get by, all she has to do is reverse about 5 metres. But she has never reversed a horsebox before, again the traffic starts to build and Brian asks the lady if she would like him to do it. She is out of the car like lightening and Brian expertly reverses into the lay-by. She is so grateful that she asks Brian to give her lessons!
Eventually we get to the field and all unload. Dotty and “My” Dexta pose for their photographs because this is a unique occasion. There are not many places that you will see two petrol Dextas working side by side. We process through the field to our plots, which again are side by side. We have all the Allis and Dexta plots in a line so we are all close together. Mark and I set out our plots and start work. Mark is using a TS54 two furrow and I am using the TS1015 single furrow reversible ploughing at around 12” deep. Our plots are on a steep rise but both Dotty and “My” Dexta plough up and down with no problems We both plough at just above tick over, in second gear and the two tractors purr up and down. Other tractors are tearing about throwing out clouds of smoke and soil but with our two you can still hear the birds singing. “My” one is far quieter than Dotty. She has the Fergy exhaust whilst “My” Dexta has the original Fordson one. (I really must let Mark claim back ownership as I now have Dotty, but it is hard).
Some claims are made that Ford built petrol Dextas for working in hospital grounds where quiet engines would not disturb the patients but I doubt this. Both Mark and I are also sceptical about the claim that they were built for cold climates. If this is true, why are so many found in Australia? Mark and I think it could be that Ford was going head to head with the Ferguson in all tractor markets. Ferguson had just introduced a big tractor in the 65, so Ford retaliated with competition in all markets where the 35 was sold. As there was still petrol 35s being sold, Ford had to have petrol Dexta to compete.
There are no facts to support the cold weather theory or the hospital theory but there are plenty of facts to support the Ford marketing push for Fergy markets.
Both the cold weather theory and the hospital theory come from verbal conversations and have been written up by someone with an excellent reputation in the tractor world. Therefore they must be right! Bit like starters being fitted on 1936 Model N Fordsons. Someone heard something and took it as true with no physical evidence and, as the right-up appears in a prestigious magazine and the author is very well known, it must be true.
No one will ever know who is right! That is the beauty of this hobby.
The day passed and a number of comments were made about the two Dextas quietly getting on with their jobs. I was told many times by those who know about these things (?) that they were not really petrol Dextas but were petrol/kerosene ones should really be running on that fuel to be authentic! Pity Ford made all those mistakes in the parts books and operators manuals.
By mid afternoon we had worked up our plots and went for a wander round looking at the other exhibits. The theme this year was Allis machines and a number of crawlers; Bs, D272s and ED40s were dotted around the field. But I was disappointed not to see either a Model U or a Model G especially so close to the great market garden area of England.
There was however a Fordson MOM. That pottered around the field at a fair turn of speed for such an old and venerable lady.
Of course there was tractor pulling with all the combinations of Fordson Major back ends and engines. All going down the track with maximum smoke and front wheels high in the air. Then an elderly gentleman of my age backed his John Deere 730 to the sledge and started of down the track. As the weight went up the frame, the JD’s tyres just flexed and the engine note remained steady. Nothing would stop her! They pulled the sledge back and put another two tonnes in the carriage. The JD tried again with the same results, the tyres squashed down but the sledge could not stop her however hard they tried.
Smoke and noise is not everything! We loaded and made our way home, tired and happy and suitably impressed with an old two cylinder JD.
I am working on the pictures, just got to get them loaded to Photobucket).
. Dotty looks great!!
are you doing on a AC B? 
