Tractors – a heritage to be proud of.
The word tractor originally came from the Latin word trahere, which means pull. Although tractors are mainly used on farms for ploughing, pulling trailers and a wide variety of other farming tasks, some tractors are used in the forestry sector and by councils. The backhoe tractors are used in the construction industry for demolition jobs and others are fitted with special engineering tools that can be used in construction. There are also road tractors and these are commonly used for transferring freight.
The first tractors were invented in the early eighteen hundreds and were powered by steam engines. The first engine-powered farm tractors used steam and were introduced in 1868. These tractors were phased out in the early nineteenth century and replaced with tractors with open cabs and combustion engines. The early tractors were replaced because they were not very stable and the steam engines were prone to explosions and dangerous for the farmer to operate. These engines were built as small road locomotives and were operated by one man if the engine weighed less than 5 tons. They were used for general road haulage and in particular by the timber trade. The most popular steam tractor was the Garrett 4CD.
There is a wide range of makes of farm tractors available such as John Deeres and Massey Ferguson. It is possible to get a compact tractor, which can be used for gardening work and some light farm work. Tractors are available which fit a wide range of budgets and requirements and it is possible to buy used tractors as well as brand new tractors.
These engines were built as small road locomotives and were operated by one man if the engine weighed less than 5 tons. They were used for general road haulage and in particular by the timber trade. The most popular steam tractor was the Garrett 4CD.
In Europe, the tractor won its breakthrough right after the Second World War. As late as in 1939, England still had over one million horses used predominantly for pulling the plow. 11 years later, in 1950, there were only about 50,000 such horses left.
Modern tractors are built with a rollover protection system that protects the tractor driver should the tractor tip over. This system prevents the driver from getting trapped or crushed. It is a legal requirement that tractors are built with the rollover protection system. This regulation was first introduced in New Zealand in the 1960s.
Some modern tractors have global positioning systems(GPS) built in. The GPS can be used to ensure that the tractor goes across a large field in a straight line. Another advantage of this system is that they can calculate the distance that the tractor has covered.
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