Charleville in Co. Cork recently held its 49th show and vintage (classic) gathering in the welcoming warmth of the mid-summer sun.
This year the field was as crowded as ever with a large collection of cars, trucks and tractors. There are three marques in particular which are celebrating notable anniversaries in 2018; all had a place in the main ring.
Both the Land Rover and the Morris Minor were launched 70 years ago, while it is a century since John Deere purchased the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company and started production of tractors proper.
Meanwhile, the several pre-war models present (an example of which is pictured below) were instantly recognisable by the distinctive art deco styling of Henry Dreyfuss, including a novel version of the ‘Model L’ in yellow.
Marshall was another make with neatly turned-out examples spanning the period of its production on the field.
The Field-Marshall (pictured below) of the 1940s and 1950s has an impressive presence; however, by then the world was turning to multi-cylinder engines – a realisation that came too late for the original company (although Leyland tractors were eventually sold under the Marshall name).
Other tractors that stood out included a genuine MB Trac 1500 (main/featured picture) and a brace of Massey Ferguson (MF) 1155 tractors (one of which is pictured below), which had somehow escaped the prairies to end up in Ireland.
Tractor cabs are very often a subject of great discussion, when attempting to establish the provenance of classic machines.
On this score, there was no shortage of confusion to be had at Charleville – with a Fordson Major sporting a much later Ford (Fieco) safety cab (pictured below).
There was also a Fiat 1000 with no cab at all (pictured below). In this case, it had been taken off to be painted and, as yet, it hasn’t been reinstalled. Nevertheless, the tractor itself is still kept busy.
Below is a further selection of pictures from the sun-drenched event. Note how well turned out some of these tractors (and spectators too!) are.
Click on a thumbnail in the gallery (below) to open up a full-size image; once opened you can scroll sideways to see the next picture.
