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Old Iron on the Net
By George Stock
Oxford County Library for the Oxford Review
July 30, 2001
Call it an obsession if you wish but wherever current and aspiring older farmers gather you will hear talk of "old iron". Eyes turn misty as they regale tales of the Ferguson 20-85 on which they first learned to drive, the Massey Pony that Grandpa used to work the garden, the McCormick 10-20 that was the first tractor on their farm and their neighbour's John Deere A with the putt-putt that could be heard on the next concession.
The net has a treasure trove of information for the antique tractor enthusiast. Any search for "antique tractor" yields thousands of pages with tractors, memorabilia and parts for sale, information and advice for restoration, awesome photographs, clubs and chat lines dedicated to tractor enthusiasts, and links to related websites.
The mother of all antique tractor websites is ATIS, Antique tractor Internet Service, http://www.atis.net/. ATIS has been in business since 1993 and bills itself as "the Largest, oldest and the original Antique Tractor web site on the planet, bar none".
In addition to using live links to websites of dozens of clubs and organizations, suppliers, and publications, enthusiasts can subscribe to mailing lists to receive emails with information geared to particular interests, such as Allis Chalmers, John Deere and stationary engines.
ATIS features classified ads for restored and in-the-rough tractors, parts, manuals and memorabilia. It provides lists of tractor savage yards around the world, restoration advice and resources. For example, there is a link to a page where date of manufacture can be determined from serial numbers.
For those who enjoy seeing old iron and meeting with others with similar interests, ATIS provides a directory of steam and tractor shows.
A similarly comprehensive but easier to navigate site is Yesterday's Tractors, http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/. Associated with the magazine of the same name, this site features excellent photos, both in a gallery and in automatically advancing stills taken at steam shows.
Yesterday's Tractors includes a section of activities for kids, a page of tractor games and a directory of tractor museums, including many in Canada.
Resources for the tractor enthusiast, including discussions, safety cartoons, tip of the day, paint codes and tune-up specifications, are easy to find in this well organized website.
With the thousands of sites available it can be a chore organizing a search. One site that is very useful in this regard is Tractor Links, http://www.tractorlinks.com/. This site offers 15 categories of links, including tractor pulls, museums and garden tractors in addition to the links to sites dedicated to specific tractor makes.
Two very useful features of Tractor Links are an antique tractor search engine and a rating system based on votes from individuals visiting the pages linked to the site.
There is plenty on the net to interest those with a yen for old iron. Go for it!
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