Published via Ecency

earlier this summer i was visiting a historical sawmill called halle mølle about 10 km from our house. the place is now a local history museum open on sunday afternoons in the summer. on the grounds i came upon this old fordson tractor by itself away from the main features of the mill and museum.

it is an impressive sight even though it is quite a while since it has seen better days. back in the hard 1930s norway was a poor country and farm labor was a tough life. this fordson was the first tractor ever to come to this part of norway. some years ago it was donated to halle mølle.

after having huge success with affordable automobiles henry ford and son set out to repeat the success with tractors. for years fordson was by far the most common tractor due in no small part to the price. fordson was the first tractor that was cheaper to maintain than horses.

the blue color of this particular tractor, a fordson n, indicates that it was manufactured in cork, ireland for the european market.

of course rust has overtaken most of the surface but some blue still remains.

and the front wheels. both the front and rear wheels are steel

as is the seat. working this tractor was obviously not a comfortable ride.

later models came with rubber tires

i find it fascinating how this tractor was built, with the wood siding

and the engine all exposed. even if you are not mechanically inclined you are likely to be impressed with the design

some models had gasoline engines but this seems to be a kerosene one that used gasoline only for starting.

it was liquid cooled

there is still traces of the original blue color on this rear wheel hub and spokes

but i have taken some freedom with color in my editing

if you are ever in these parts and like this kind of history, halle mølle is a great place to visit. soon i will post more from both the water wheel powering the mill and inside the old buildings