Tractor heritage, news and features

Welcome... June 2011

The owner, Peter Alflatt of King’s Lynn has done a fantastic job in restoring it considering it was found burnt out and in a bad way and has taken three years to restore it to its present condition.

Having not seen the like of this before I was particularly struck by it and when I had the tipping arrangement explained to me I just had to go away and find out some more.

The body of the cart was tipped by four pads mounted on it which were pressed against the two rear tyres. The body was then unlocked and the vehicle slowly reversed, which tipped the body. The body actually pivoted on the rear axle.

This cart has apparently spent part of its life working on a market garden in Lincolnshire and was manufactured by Sun Engineering (Crowle) Limited, Crowle near Scunthorpe.

Back in 1938 Sun Engineering Limited started producing a track laying trailer for agricultural use, which it called the Hornsby. Then 10 years later, in 1948, it added a small petrol engined three-wheeled tipping truck to its range, which was named the Sun Mechanical Cart.

The cart is powered by a 10hp Ford industrial engine and has a body capacity of approximately two cubic yards. The two rear wheels, originally fitted with 9 x 36 tyres and were set to a track width of the standard Lincolnshire root crop row width.

Contemporary tests showed the vehicle to have drawbar pull of 2400lb on Tarmac, so it was suitable for trailer work, and an average of 6.36 miles per gallon was obtained carrying a 4450lb load at 4½mph.

So there you go, that’s a good case for me to get motivated and plan (better half laughs at this point) out a list of events that I should attend over the coming months.

You never know what lies around the corner to catch your interest in this job be it tractor, plough, implement or beast.

Things are already busying up on all fronts judging by the reports that are included in this issue of the magazine.

Not only do we have the full report on this year’s National Vintage Tractor Road Run set amid spectacular scenery in Pembrokeshire. But also a first report on the Cheffins vintage sale, the big season opener on the auction front. Judging by the early results we have seen it looks as if it’s business as normal for collectors of all things vintage in the tractor world, despite the harbingers of doom who perpetually paint a black picture of the global economy.

Tony Hoyland
Editor