Home»All Photographs»Year Albums»2022»December»2022_12_17 GCR & Fordson Tractor

With the extended spell of very cold weather expected to end the next day I decided to visit the GCR for a very short time on Saturday 17th December 2022. It was most definitely very cold but I managed to see, if not photograph, all the motive power that was in operation. I went first to Rushey Lane to see both Santa services and the dining car express. That should and did involve one diesel and three steam locomotives but significantly late running led to confusion and my eventual return to home due to poor light as the afternoon progressed.
An unexpected bonus was a Fordson Tractor in Quorn Station Yard. Apparently complete with no reason to believe it was not fully functional this was a reminder to me of my early interest in motor vehicles and particularly their engines. This tractor was dual fuel equipped for petrol and TVO (tractor vaporising oil or paraffin) with a four-cylinder water cooled side valve engine. The engine, clutch, gearbox, rear axle and rear wheels formed a single unit. The centre of the front axle was pivoted below the front of the cylinder block and all four wheels were unsprung. Indeed, the only external spring that I could see was a quarter elliptic attached to the rear of the engine that provided the seat for the driver. No shock absorber was present so the driver must have enjoyed a lively ride on a pressed steel seat when operating over rough terrain.