The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ford’s tractors still a mainstay a century on from their arrival
machinery: Manufacturer introduced first model in UK 100 years ago
A century ago the first tractors offered by Henry Ford arrived on these shores and ever since Fordson, Ford and now New Holland tractors have been hugely popular.
In December 1917, the first shipment of 254 arrived in the UK. Initially known as the MOM (Ministry of Munitions) tractor, by 1918 it was called the Fordson and ever since the Fordson and its successors have remained a key part of farm mechanisation.
Because Henry Ford did not get the backing of the Ford Motor Company board to go into tractor production, he and his son created Ford and Son or Fordson for short.
Ford’s policy of assembly line production was able to make the tractor extremely cheap compared to others and its simple unitary design was another plus point.
By 1918 it was known as the Model F and hundreds of thousands were built at Dearborn and Cork until it was phased out in 1928.
By this time Fordson had become a major player in the tractor game on both sides of the Atlantic. Some were built at Ford’s plant in Bologna in Italy while a copy was made in Russia.
When the new UK factory at Dagenham opened in 1932 it was an improved version of the Model N that rolled off the line.
It had been made for a short while at Cork, but it was the Dagenham N with improvements over the years that became known as the tractor that helped win the war as Ford produced many thousands of them at the Government’s request to help feed Britain during the Second World War.
When Ford could only offer a stop-gap tractor in 1945, the E27N Fordson Major became another iconic machine which held its own alongside the more sophisticated Ferguson, Nuffield and David Brown tractors launched in the immediate post-war years.
When Ford were able to put a brand new design into production in 1951, the result was a major success. The new Fordson Major was the tractor which is responsible for converting farmers to diesel engines, although petrol and petrol paraffin units were available.
As usual, the tractor was competitively priced, and it proved to be extremely reliable and strong with the diesel power unit being a very easy starter. Joined by its smaller sibling the Dexta in 1957, Ford were riding high in the sales charts.
The improved 6Y series launched in 1968 was known as the Ford Force range and went on to cement Ford’s appeal.
The launch of the 7000 in 1971 saw Ford become the first manufacturer to offer a factory-built turbo-charged engine and this tractor became an icon even to this day.
Over the years the subsequent 600 range and the 10 Series, including the superb 7810 model, became very popular helping Ford to the top of the charts. Their bigger ranges such as the FW and TW and 30 Series were also held in high regard.
Even today under Fiat ownership and branded as New Holland, blue tractors are still very popular, with recent ranges such as the TM series becoming icons of modern times.