Vintage tractor and commercial vehicle enthusiasts are preparing for the 2022 show season which will culminate with the much-anticipated Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show, held at Newark Showground on November 5 and 6.
Entries for this year’s competition open at the end of June, with three new classes being welcomed for commercial vehicles: British commercials, non-UK commercials, and pre-1950 commercials.
More than 1,000 vintage tractors, implements and commercial vehicles, from all across the country, will attend the Newark Show. Show highlights include a celebration of Nicholson’s of Newark machinery and Ruston stationary engines from Lincoln; plus 70 years of the Fordson New Major E1A.
The E1A was produced between 1952 and 1958 and launched at the Smithfield Show in December 1951, to replace the old E27N model. The E1A featured a choice of three new four-cylinder overhead valve engines, available in petrol, diesel or vaporising oil.
Further celebrations will also take place as David Brown honours 75 years of its Cropmaster or VAK1C model. Produced between 1947 and 1953, VAK1C model variants included the Vineyard, or narrow version. In 1949, David Brown also became the first major tractor manufacturer in Britain to launch its own diesel engine.
The Heritage event will also toast 75 years of the single-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine machine, the Series II Field Marshall. Manufactured at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, the Field Marshall was commonly used to pull threshing machines from site to site, before powering them in-field. The machine was started by inserting a smouldering taper containing saltpetre into the cylinder head – which acted as a glow plug before turning the engine over with a handle.
For the Massey Ferguson enthusiasts, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the MF1200; a four-wheel drive articulated tractor, with a hard-nosed bonnet and integral cab, which mirrored the 1500 and 1800 models created for the US market. The MF1200 had a 5.8-litre Perkins Diesel engine that produced 105hp, while the central pivot allowed for very tight turns on headlands – for the ultimate workhorse tractor.
Among the competitions and celebrations, visitors to the Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show can see spectacular machinery displays, plus a range of trade stands selling vintage parts and equipment. On Saturday 5, there will be a live auction of vintage equipment, while Sunday 6 will feature an auto-jumble and annual Service of Remembrance.
For more information on the Show, please visit newarkvintagetractorshow.com.