Rare tractors mark 80th anniversary
TRACTOR enthusiasts celebrated the 80th anniversary of the founding of Meltham-based David Brown Tractors.
The David Brown Tractor Club opened its museum for the weekend and showed off its collection of tractors and company memorabilia.
Star of the show was a David Brown VAK1, one of the first tractors made by the firm in 1939.
The gear manufacturing company’s involvement in farm machinery began in 1936 when it collaborated with Harry Ferguson to build the legendary Ferguson-Brown Tractor.
Built initially in the corner of the David Brown gear factory, the Ferguson-Brown model was the world’s first production tractor to be equipped with a revolutionary hydraulics system, which soon became a fundamental part of farm tractor design the world over.
But it wasn’t until 1939 that the first David Brown model rolled off the production line.
Around 1,350 Ferguson-Brown tractors were built – the last 20 or so at the Meltham factory – before Ferguson and Brown split.
When the VAK1 was exhibited at the 1939 Royal Show, it was widely acclaimed. But the outbreak of the Second World War halted plans for mass production, resuming in peacetime from 1946.
Meltham-built tractors gained a worldwide reputation and the firm quickly grew.
In 1972 it was bought by Tenneco Inc, of Houston, Texas, and became part of its J I Case subsidiary. A decline in the industry meant the Meltham factory eventually closed in 1988.
David Brown tractors continued to have a loyal following and Martin George helped set up the David Brown Tractor Club in 1995. It now has more than 1,200 members worldwide.
To celebrate the anniversary the tractor museum at Spinksmire Mill in Meltham hosted talks from former David Brown employee Alan Kellett and Stuart Gibbard, editor of the club newsletter Tractor News.
Club chairman Neil Singleton said the weekend had been a big success and added: “It is all about keeping the David Brown name alive.
“Everyone of a certain generation remembers the David Brown tractor from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It’s in the blood and it sticks with you.”
The tractor museum, which opens to the public once a month, also has a 1594 in its collection, the last off the production line.
David Brown is also synonymous with Aston Martin, bought by Huddersfield-born Sir David Brown in 1946. Aston Martin retains the DB initials on its models today.