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The Glasgow Tractor
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The "Glasgow" has been a special tractor in our family since 1957. My father, Murray Rodger, was concerned with the amount of early machinery collected for scrap metal. He approached the Kelso scrap merchant, asking him not to wreck old tractors and machinery. Charlie Smaill, of Moa Flat, had a Glasgow sitting under the trees on his farm. It was the only Glasgow to have been imported into New Zealand. After the First World War, Charlie went to Scotland and the U.K. for a trip in 1920, purchasing the tractor for about £500. This may have included shipping costs; we are not sure. Murray took his 1945 Bedford truck and "rescued" No. 178 from where it sat with a small tree growing up through the front wheel. using Smaill's tractor it was pulled down to the road and loaded on. On the way home to his farm Westwood, at Crookston, the tool box fell off the back. Looking for it on the road was fruitless; someone had picked it up and didn't report it to the police.
There was great excitement unloading it outside the stables, near the house. Still in working order, Murray reversed it only to have the single back wheel sink into soft ground beside the fence. The more they moved it, the further it sank, until eventually with farming ingenuity it was parked up for all to see.
The Glasgow has three wheels, arranged with two wheels at the front and a single driven wheel at the rear, to eliminate the need for a differential. When going forward, it has three wheel drive, but when in reverse, only one wheel drives. The tractor's weight is 38cwt, with 4 cylinder single valve, 4 x 5 1/2, 25 h.p. at 1000 r.p.m. The first time it was on display was at the West Otago Vintage Farm Machine Club Monster Rally. This was held at "Elmbank", the property of Mr R. Hamilton, Tapanui, Saturday 26 March, 1960. The tractor has been housed at the West Otago Vintage Club for everyone to see for some years. It is still owned by the Rodger family.
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Murray (back to camera) and Max Walker
outside the stables at Westwood, 1958.
From left: Jo Rodger, Brian Rodger, Janette Chittock, Hilton Chittock,
Mavis Rodger with child in arms, probably Judith Rodger, seated Bob Rodger.
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Go to part two :-> The Glasgow Tractor Manufacturer
The above notes are part of my book West Otago - 150 Years, Farming and Families. If you would like to read more about agricultural implements, Westwood or Crookston, the book will be available towards the end of 2008. You can contribute and have your family included in the book if they lived or worked in West Otago.
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