Old Pond publishing days

A strong recommendation for the Hymac book from Graham Black of Earthmovers magazine

Graham Black, editor of Earthmovers magazine has written a very positive review of Jeremy Rowland's new Hymac book. Here is what he says:

‘I thought I knew a thing or two about Hymac, but Jeremy’s book has opened my eyes to the full range of equipment they produced. Cranes, re-handling machines, long-reach excavators, truck-mounted backhoes, demolition rigs – the list is almost endless. It is not just the basic concept of the 360-degree slew – the configuration that is still used today – that put Hymac at the cutting edge of muck-shifting machinery design. Even today, some excavator manufacturers would be hard-pressed to develop such a range of special adaptations in-house.

‘The hundreds of photographs provide a fantastic glimpse of construction sites in times past. As you may have gathered, I strongly recommend this book as an ideal Christmas present for the muck-shifting machinery enthusiast.’

Earthmovers magazine, November 2013, page 96.

Tracks, Tyres and Skid Units new DVD on Ford Tractor Conversions from Tractor Barn advance information

Tracks, Tyres and Skid Units: The Story of Ford Tractor Conversions Part One – Evolution 1917-1964, Steven Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn Productions), DVD, approx 90 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-85-0. Available from Old Pond end October at £16.95 inc. VAT (This does not appear in the new Old Pond catalogue.)

For advance orders or further information email [email protected].

Ever since the first Fordson tractor appeared in 1917 other companies have used the basic tractor skid unit as a power source for different agricultural and industrial machinery.

Steven Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam of Tractor Barn Productions give a chronological account of these conversions showing them with the actual tractor model they are based on. In this way we see how the various machines from Roadless, County, Muir-Hill, Doe, JCB and Matbro, to mention just a few, were developed and sold alongside each other.

The programme is based on footage from many events, both large and small, across the British Isles, showing the machines at work wherever possible. The Tractor Barn duo have also blended in archive film.

This fascinating glimpse into machines built between 1917 and 1964 includes examples of the following:

Trackson Model F full track – H&P Model F half track – Roadless full track N – Roadless half track N – Roadless Major half track – Roadless Model E – County CFT – Roadless J17 – County Four Drive – Roadless-Manuel Major – Power Major and Super Major – Doe Dual Power – Doe Triple-D – Matbro Mastiff 6/100MT – JCB Hydra-loader – Muir-Hill Major shunter – County Super Four – County Super Six – Roadless Ploughmaster 6/4.

Ransomes & Rapier book needed

Another gap in manufacturing history (see previous post on Hymac) that we would dearly like to see filled is Ransomes & Rapier. Is anyone preparing a book on the company?

The Illustrated History of Hymac new book by Jeremy Rowland published today

The publication today of The Illustrated History of Hymac by Jeremy Rowland sees the filling of another gap in the story of British manufacturing companies.

The Hydraulic Machinery Company (Great Britain) Ltd produced hydraulic excavators and cranes from 1962 to 1993, principally at Rhymney in South Wales and in the Midlands.

Hymac manufactured the UK’s first all-hydraulic excavator and it was the first company in Great Britain to design and build a full 360-dregree slew crawler excavator. This Hymac 580 and its developments achieved such popularity on building sites, scrap yards and similar locations that there was a time when any make of 360-degree hydraulic excavator was referred to as a Hymac.

With 340 photographs and a knowledgeable text Jeremy Rowland brings to life the story of an enterprising company that retains a dedicated following.

Full details and secure online ordering for this new hardback book are here.

Heli-Loggers DVD in stock

The Heli-Loggers DVD is now in stock at Old Pond. It is exceptional value for money at £14.95 (inc. VAT) for seven hours' exciting viewing. Details and secure online ordering are here.

Heli-Loggers DVD available soon from Old Pond

Heli-Loggers, Discovery Channel. 4-DVD set, approx 7 hours. Now in stock at Old Pond Publishing at £14.95 inc. VAT.

This series follows Gord Closson and team at the South Coast Standing Stem Logging Company. Working in the mountainous terrain of Canada’s Vancouver Island in British Columbia, these skilled specialists prepare timber for extraction by helicopter.

We see several different projects. The first is to extract mature red cedar some 30 to 40 metres tall and as much as 25 feet in circumference. If the risks are high, the potential rewards are high too, with one stem worth as much as 50,000 dollars.

The risks come in several forms. There are all the usual hazards of felling on uneven, steep-sided terrain. But the specialist skills are the amount of climbing and moving from tree to tree at height that are involved. There is spectacular footage of ‘clawing’, using a grapple to hook on to a neighbouring tree as an anchorage to swing across. We appreciate the skills of the experienced fellers when we see newcomers – even with experience elsewhere – not making the grade.

Gord Closson always seems to over-commit the team so that they are working against deadlines with bad weather and darkness on their way. The stems are taken out by Chinook helicopter, the most powerful logging helicopter available, at a cost of 15,000 dollars per hour. Pilot Karen Trimmer keeps the turn-rounds short.

The capital costs of the enterprise are high, so the team has to ensure that timber of sufficient weight is available for each load which is taken out from stems felled to the ground or by ‘jigging’. The technique of jigging is to saw into the stems sufficiently so that the helicopter can snap the stem as it lifts, but not so far that the stem breaks off in the wind.

Other projects we see include clearing ground for electric power lines and operating close to a salmon stream which has to be kept free of debris, part of the eco-friendly policy that the team follows.

So, this is one of the world’s most perilous jobs in which every day the team members have to make a lot of decisions and get them right. One false move can spell disaster.

Farming in Miniature authors at Sandown Park

The first airing for advance copies of Farming in Miniature Volume 1 (see blog post 5 August) was on Saturday at the Sandown Park Toy Collectors Fair. This was the first time the authors had seen copies of their printed book. They are, left to right, Peter Wade-Martins, Adrian Little and Robert Newson.

They also signed the bookplates which will accompany orders for the book received up to November 1st by Old Pond and affiliated retailers.

Sprayers & Spreaders new DVD from Chris Lockwood advance information

Sprayers & Spreaders: self-propelled machines in Britain, Chris Lockwood. DVD approx 112 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-81-2. To be released in October by Old Pond Publishing at £16.95 inc VAT.

For further information or to order in advance please email [email protected] or phone 01473 238200.

From the late 1970s, we have witnessed the continuous technical development of sprayers and spreaders. Chris Lockwood demonstrates this by showing 51 examples in operation.

He starts with some early self-propelled conversions such as the SAM F.C. from 1977. Although hydrostatic drive was soon to take over, mechanical-drive machines continued to play a role, particularly in special applications.

The bulk of Chris Lockwood’s programme deals with sprayers from the 1990s onwards. Increased tanks capacities, greater boom width, higher clearance and improved driver comfort are just some of the many advances that Chris shows and describes. By the end of the programme we have reached the full integration of GPS, with automatic functions to govern boom levelling, section control and steering.

The DVDs made by Suffolk-based agricultural journalist Chris Lockwood include One Farm, One Year, an outstanding account of four seasons on a large arable farm. In Sprayers & Spreaders Chris continues his quest to show in detail the range of machinery that is an essential part of modern arable farming.

The machines included in the programme are: Ag-Chem Big-A 2800, Terra-Gator 2505, 8103 ● Agrifac Condor ● Amazone Pantera 4001 ● Bargam MAC 2500 MC ● Bateman RB15, RB25, RB35 ● Berthoud Raptor FC 3240 ● Case IH GEM 3000 SP ● Chafer Tramliner SP ● Challenger RoGator 418, 655, TerraGator 2244 ● Chavtrac Chaviot 2000 ● Clayton C4120 ● Dammann-trac DT 2500 H Plus ● Econ Allseason ● FarmGEM Sapphire II ● Fendt F 380 GHA ● GEM Sapphire ● GM-R Fieldcruiser FR-3-180i ● Hardi Alpha Evo 4100 ● Haylock SP2000 ● Holmer Terra Variant 600 ● Househam AR3000, Merlin 4-24, Spirit 3-24 ● JCB Fastrac 2170 with Knight demount ● John Deere 5430i ● Kellands Agribuggy 2500 ● Knight 1835, Challenger 110 ● Landquip CV240 ● Lite-Trac SS2400 ● Matrot M44D 150 ● MB Unimog 1600S,  U400 forward control ● MB-Trac 1000 forward control ● Melroe Spra-Coupe 3430 ● Multidrive 6185, FC, MB6185 ● SAM 2000, 2000 (1995), F.C. (1977), F.C. (1989), SLc4000, Vision 4.0 & 4.0E ● South Cave S-Trac U500.

Nuffield and Leyland book price reduction

The recommended retail price of The Nuffield Tractor Story Volume Two: Nuffield and Leyland 1963-1982, previously announced at £24.95 has been reduced by Old Pond to £19.95. The book is now in stock. For further details see here.

Custom cutting and Dale Starks in new DVD The American Dream advance information

The American Dream Part One: Following the Yellow Trail. Filmed by Kevin and Steven Clarke. Edited and produced by Stephen Richmond and Jonathan Whitlam (Tractor Barn). DVD approx 95 minutes. ISBN 978-1-908397-82-9. Now available from Old Pond at £16.95 inc. VAT.

Norfolk (England) farming brothers and contractors Steven and Kevin Clarke share with us their fascination for harvesting in North America and in particular for custom cutter Dale Starks. Dale was the contractor who starred with his team of MF 760 combines in the 1976 BBC film Yellow Trail from Texas.

After seeing the Clarkes at work on their own East Anglian farm with big MF equipment we go on a road tour through the American corn belt, as recorded by them in 2007. They introduce us to farmers and contractors and show classic and modern combines at work, including a superb MF 750, and the delivery of grain to the stores at the start of a wet season with the promise of violent storms.

In Oklahoma, when they drive into the Starks’ yard they find out the back the very truck that featured in Yellow Trail. Made welcome by Dale’s son, Larry, they join in the harvest with grandson Garritt pulling the chaser bin.

Further south they finally catch up with 83-year-old Dale himself who records his thoughts about the past. ‘If I was a young man,’ he says, ‘I’d do the same all over again.’ The interview has great poignancy because Dale died a few months later, having just completed his last contract of the year.