Old Ferguson tractors to be on display at Sheffield Steamfest

Ferguson tractor lovers will be treated to one of the biggest ever displays of the unstoppable workhorses when their 80th anniversary is celebrated at Steamfest at Sheffield from March 7-9.

From the oldest Fergie in Tasmania to the newest from Tasmac, the tractors will be showcased and gathered in numbers never seen before.

Phillip Gaunt of Launceston will take two of his treasured Fergies along, the very first tractor he restored as a teenager – it also starred at the 50th anniversary of Fergies when it was held at Agfest – and his latest restoration which he completed about six years ago.

Both are petrol-driven TEAs and sport the battleship grey that was typical of the war era frugality.

“My father grew up on a farm and he bought a Fergie and it’s grown from there to become a family obsession – between my dad John and brother Stephen we’ve got about 30 tractors,” Mr Gaunt said.

Mr Gaunt, an electrical engineer, said the Fergies are a nice little tractor to use but for him it’s the thought and engineering that went into them that captures his imagination.

“When these were new, they were very different to anything else on the market - a lot more advanced and a lot easier to use,” he said.

“They’ve stood the test of time when all of the other manufacturers that were around at the time have largely disappeared and their tractors have become ornaments.

“Grey Ferguson tractors are still in common use all around the world and the later 35s are still being built today in India by the thousands.”

Steamfest will include tractor pulls, vintage tractor display, steam engines, bullocks teams, draught horses and many other examples of historic farming practices.

Sheffield Steam and Heritage Centre volunteers have been busy preparing the site, using their reliable old machinery of course.

The oats have been cut and stocked, the fields around the Steamfest site have been slashed, dozens of sleepers along the track and in the yard have been replaced, firewood has been split, diesel driver competencies have been checked and assessed, extensive fencing work and painting is underway.

Steam trains, model trains and miniature trains will be operating during Steamfest and visitors will be able to check out the ongoing restoration of the old Ida Bay Hunslet – the 1936-built loco that is slowly being brought back to life.

Passengers are welcome on the 120-year-old Krauss loco, the only one still operating as a passenger train having first come to Australia in the decades prior to the First World War. 

Steam trains run every half hour from 11am to 4pm. There is no need to book and the 2km return journey takes about 25 minutes.

Train fares are adults $10, family (up to 6) $20, concession $8, kids under 5, companion card holders and dogs on lead travel free.

Miniature train rides cost $3 (subject to volunteer availability and weather!).

Fergie facts

Harry Ferguson designed the Ferguson TE20 tractor that was first built by the Standard Motor Company in Coventry England, the first example rolled off the production line 1946.

During its production it is estimated over 518,000 tractors were made in the United Kingdom with a further 306,000 made in the United States of America. Over 51,000 ‘little grey Fergies’ came to Australia with many of them still in everyday use.

The Little Grey Fergy or Grey Menace as it was known by the competition, soon became a familiar sight with one or more appearing on almost every farm. The tractor with its range of specifically designed implements was able to perform just about any task required. The Ferguson System as it was known, changed farming forever.

In 1957 New Zealand Explorer Sir Edmund Hillary used three Ferguson petrol TE-A20 tractors modified with flexible tracks fitted around the front and rear wheels to cross the
Antarctic and reach the South Pole in just 17 days. 

The Fergies withstood blizzards and ice crevasses operating under temperatures down to –36 deg C, and in doing so became the first vehicles to be driven to the South Pole. 

The contribution to agriculture Harry Ferguson made cannot be understated, having designed his revolutionary three-point linkage system for implement attachment and control. To this day, almost every modern wheel tractor is fitted with a Ferguson-designed three point linkage system.