Historic collection on show
Historic collection on show
By Mike Williams
THE vintage tractor collection at Toddington Manor, Beds is one of the biggest in the country, and it began when Sir Neville Bowman-Shaw bought an Allis-Chalmers Model B as a present for his wifes birthday.
Although he now thinks his wife might have preferred something different for her birthday, it was the purchase of the Model B that prompted Sir Nevilles keen interest in collecting vintage equipment.
He now has three combine harvesters, an assortment of hay machinery, a Garvie thresher and 110 tractors, but the precise number keeps changing because Sir Neville is still adding to the collection – the latest addition is an International Harvester B250 tractor bought in Oct at a Cheffins auction near Cambridge.
His oldest tractor is an American-built Case 40 powered by a massive horizontally opposed, twin-cylinder petrol engine. It was delivered to its first owner in 1911, but was probably built in 1910.
The collection also includes a 1943 John Deere Model 12A trailed combine and 23 John Deere tractors which are Sir Nevilles favourites because of early memories of the tractors on his fathers farm – the first tractor he drove was a John Deere model BN.
Most of the tractors are restored mechanically and cosmetically to a high standard with Sir Neville doing most of the work himself. They are on display in redundant farm buildings at Toddington Manor, Toddington. The tractors, the gardens and a rare breeds collection are open to the public in the summer. Details are on the web-site: www.toddingtonmanor.co.uk.