number-names of old tractors

I am beginning to suspect that this has to do withthe rated horsepower of the unit, where the first # is the drawbar power, and the second # is the pulley power.

Am I way off base here?

Andy

The Nebraska tractor tests came about in an effort to standardize tractor power ratings in response to more than a few inflated claims of tractor power ratings by unscrupulous manufacturers. For a few years in the 1920's many builders' model numbers incorporated the tractors' drawbar/belt HP ratings.

These ratings were often determined and used in model designations for steam traction engines as well.

Tractor owners, like any other exclusive group, communicate among themselves in a way that prevents outsiders from understanding. That's the essence of all professional vocabularies, and it's no different here.

I've been an avid student of the tractor culture for the last year, and through dedicated study have figured out most of the Ferguson, Massey, MF line.

When someone drops a John Deere number in a posting, however, I feel like the village idiot gazing hopelessly at the butcher's daughter, convinced that I will never, could never, figure out a vocabulary that arcane without a lifetime of living green.

Perhaps this tradition is at the root of the fervent brand loyalties we see in discussions. It's not the tractor: guys just don't want to face a learning curve that steep in taking on a new colour.

Rod

i guess it's one of these thoongs that is so obvious to those who know, that they don't think it needs explaining.

Andy

Dave