It includes machines produced before 1945 but still in common use and it also shows a wide range of imported marques. The most obvious development over the period has been the growth in tractor power, from an average 25 hp in the 1940s to an average of 110 hp in the late 1990s. Four-wheel drive, once the exception, has become the norm and in-cab computers have taken control of some of the functions that used to be the driver’s responsibility.
Famous names in the tractor world have disappeared since the mid 1970s while others have merged to form world-wide organisations. One of the pleasures of Brian Bell’s book is to browse through and see just what a wide range of manufacturers and machines there have been during this golden age of the farm tractor.
Hardback book , 246 x 189 mm, 256 pages, inc 320 illustrations. Published 1999
