Combining grain at the farm in Renfroe. About 1950
Once when I was about 15 years old I was pulling an IH sack tie combine behind a 48 8N on a dirt road. I came to a big steep hill and stopped and put the N in first gear and set it at idle as I started off the hill. The old dirt road had a big ditch on both sides of the road. I just got over the crest of the hill onto the steepest part and the combine began to push the tractor so the back wheels were just beginning to slide. That little slide started the rear of the tractor toward the ditch and the ditch was about four or five feet deep. Just before it got into an unrecoverable jack knife and I went into the ditch sideways I threw in the clutch pedal and took it out of gear and let it roll so I could control it. Then it was me and the combine down the hill. If I had met a car somebody would have died. Probably me. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill I'll bet I was easily doing 50 MPH but I was still in the middle of the road. I let it coast up the next hill till it was about the speed where it should synchronize with third gear and dropped it in third and went on up the hill. I had night mares about that one for years!
Once when I was about 15 years old I was pulling an IH sack tie combine behind a 48 8N on a dirt road. I came to a big steep hill and stopped and put the N in first gear and set it at idle as I started off the hill. The old dirt road had a big ditch on both sides of the road. I just got over the crest of the hill onto the steepest part and the combine began to push the tractor so the back wheels were just beginning to slide. That little slide started the rear of the tractor toward the ditch and the ditch was about four or five feet deep. Just before it got into an unrecoverable jack knife and I went into the ditch sideways I threw in the clutch pedal and took it out of gear and let it roll so I could control it. Then it was me and the combine down the hill. If I had met a car somebody would have died. Probably me. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill I'll bet I was easily doing 50 MPH but I was still in the middle of the road. I let it coast up the next hill till it was about the speed where it should synchronize with third gear and dropped it in third and went on up the hill. I had night mares about that one for years!