Youngsters say ‘vintage’ is not all about ‘old people’!
WHILE and interest in vintage tractors is very much viewed as a nostalgic pasttime for ‘oldies’, there’s also a much younger generation growing up who find the appeal of the old oil-burners mesmerising.
Alex Kettlewell, 24, from Davenham, in Cheshire, has been into vintage tractors since childhood and says it’s a great hobby with a real community spirit. He has a 1979 Ford 3600, which he saved up to buy and renovate when he was 16, and a 1959 Fordson Power Major.
“Vintage tractors have a massive social scene,” said Alex, who clocks up 2000 miles a year taking his Ford to rallies. “Recently, we went on the world’s largest vintage tractor road run in aid of Cancer Research, from Liverpool to Whitby and back – it was 600 miles. We met loads of great people, that’s what I love about it.
“Young people think it’s not cool, but the teasing at school never phased me. So many of my old school friends just sit at home playing video games, but I encouraged a new friend into vintage tractors recently.
“The appeal for me is the sense of achievement. What I feel I’ve achieved doing the tractors up is brilliant. I’d say don’t be afraid to have a go – if you save up and buy one, it’s a big daunting project, but it’s also a huge learning experience.”
He used to spend every spare moment after school with his grandad, Alan Davies, and his vintage tractor, and has even encouraged his girlfriend, Jennie Whittingham (24), into the hobby.
“When we first met, she wasn’t at all interested in tractors. But as she spent more time with me and her dad, who’s also into them, she got the bug. She loves the social side, and she has a 425 Nuffield which her dad built for her from spare parts in his workshop and a 1954 Fordson E1A New Major,” said Alex.
Twenty-one-year-old Katie Birch, from Gainsborough, is another young person with a passion for vintage tractors which she inherited from her grandad. She now has his Fergie TED20 which she plans to keep true to how he maintained it and take it to rallies the rest of the year.
Katie took her Fergie to the Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show, at Newark Showground, last year, as well as Newark County Show – where it broke down in the ring after over-heating! But she said she’s often the only young woman showing a vintage tractor at such shows.
“It’s a shame, we need more young men and women getting into vintage tractors. You’ve got all this history right in front of you when you have a vintage tractor and if you want to restore it then you’ve got a nice project. They’re also just really fun,” said Katie.
■ The Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show
will be held November 5-6 at Newark Showground. Advance tickets are now available for a discounted saving to the show up to Friday, October 28. Thereafter, gate prices apply.
There will be lots of history for machinery lovers at the event, as the show celebrates a number of anniversaries:
■ 70 years of the new Fordson Major E1A (Produced 1952 – 1958)
■ 75 years of the David Brown Cropmaster
■ 50 years of MF 1200
■ 75 years of Series II Field Marshall
■ A celebration of ‘Nicholson’s of Newark’ machinery
■ A celebration of Ruston engines from Lincoln