DESPITE expected protests from many Torque readers, Torque rarely finds a day to reminisce about the great history of agriculture.
Particularly machinery.
Last Wednesday was one of them when Torque travelled with former John Deere dealer principal and now retired machinery aficionado Hal Walton, to his beloved tractor museum in Carnamah, which has now become a regular tourist stop.
It is arguably the best Chamberlain and John Deere museum in Australia with a range of rare models, stationary engines, old owner's manuals with a smattering of other brand tractors, including a John Deere Lanz built after Deere bought German manufacturer Lanz in 1956.
"I don't get up here as often as I would like to but we're gradually reaching my goal of having the complete collection of Chamberlain (53 models) and John Deere (43 models) tractors," he told Torque as he sat next to a John Deere 8430 stripped for an engine re-build and a bit of "tarting up" before joining the museum collection.
His total of restored tractors so far is 76 with another dozen in various stages of repair.
You don't have to ask the obvious question about why he established the museum.
It started as a labour of love of the tractors he grew up with and sold as a machinery dealer.
And it was an obvious transition when he retired from the 'game'.
A trip to the United States in 2006 started the ball rolling and by 2009 tractors started piling up on a leased block.
For the next five years Hal and his mates were busy with restoration work.
And by 2014 he was ready to display the restored models.
Hal's collection is housed in a 42 metre x 22m shed with stand-out models being a Waterloo Boy model R (see story), a Chamberlain 40KA, the first tractor built in Western Australia by Chamberlain Industries in 1949 and a 55DA, the first diesel built by Chamberlain in 1954.
Total investment in the tractor museum is estimated at more than $1 million but the collective value of the tractors far exceeds that figure.
"There are now seven Waterloo Boys in Australia and they are tightly held by other collectors," Hal said.
The 40KA was the first of thousands of tractors made by Chamberlain and a total of 1913 40KAs were built between 1950 and 1954.
"And the 55DA, which I bought from a Geraldton farmer, was the first such model off the production line," he said.
So far Hal has restored tractors from various eras including John Deere tractors dating back to the 1917-built Waterloo Boy, made by Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company before John Deere bought the company in 1918.
And he has various Chamberlain models built between 1949 and 1986, which was the year when production ceased.
John Deere acquired 49 per cent of the company in 1970 and the new partnership began distributing John Deere tractors before the first imported Chamberlain John Deere tractors arrived in Australia in 1970.
'Chamberlain' was dropped off the Chamberlain John Deere company title in the early 1990s when John Deere started plans to relocate headquarters to Brisbane.
In total, Chamberlain built 97,872 tractors to 1986.
Each tractor in Hal's museum bears a plaque identifying the model, its horsepower and belt rating (when tractors were used for cutting chaff).
Hal started the collection not only because he likes tractors but also out of a sense of pride that WA-made tractors should be given a place in the State's history.
"It started in 2005 when a guy in the United States wanted to see a collection of Chamberlain tractors and I was asked to organise it," Hal recalled.
"I couldn't find a comprehensive display so I decided to build a collection.
"But because Chamberlain and John Deere were so intertwined in the history of tractors in Australia, I included both.
As a Chamberlain dealer, T and H Walton Stores was the biggest Chamberlain dealer in Australia and Hal remembers that in 1975, he sold 99 tractors of which 60 were Chamberlain C670 and C6100 models.
"The C6100 was the biggest tractor on the Australian market at that stage boasting a six cylinder engine with a 100 horsepower (75 kiloWatts) rating and they were considered a must for broadacre farming," Hal said.
But arguably the best Chamberlain ever made was the 9G which was built in 1966.
Along with the 6G it was the biggest-selling Chamberlain tractor.
There are still many 9Gs in operation today and a devoted band of enthusiasts even formed a 9G Club, established for the great trek across Australia in 2000.
"The 9G was used extensively throughout Australia in agriculture and as an industrial tractor," Hal said.
"It was rated at 62hp (46kW) and had a three-speed gearbox with a three-speed ratio box that had nine gears.
"It was one of the most used tractors on the farm for ploughing, seeding, front-end loader work and towing field bins.
"They're still in use today for towing field bins.
"Apart from the appeal to tourists, I hope the collection will also play an educational role for our children coming into farming," Hal said.
"I think it's important for them to learn about history and particularly about tractors that cleared and developed a lot of Australian farmland."
That's a sentiment we all agree with.
Lindsay on the tools
IT makes a lot of sense, to Torque at least, that a former service manager of a Chamberlain and John Deere machinery dealership should be curator of Hal Walton's Tractor Museum at Carnamah.
That's the case for Lindsay Isbister, who left Walton's Carnamah in 2004 to become a grey nomad but five years later he recycled himself to join his mate Hal restoring tractors.
Lindsay, who admits to "slowing down", still wanders off on a nomad trail with his wife Merle, who remains active as Carnamah Shire Council president, is a member of the St John of God Ambulance State Council and chairperson of the local sub-station.
Lindsay loves playing golf and bowls but being an old spanner man, it's hard to go past restoring old tractors.
The "piece de resistance" of the collection, the Waterloo Boy, was restored by Hal and his friends Kevin Coyne and Alan Kidd with Lindsay installing the final drive.
Since then Lindsay has continued to restore Chamberlain and John Deere models that have arrived from overseas and throughout Australia as rusted skeletons.
"They come in bits and pieces from all over the place and there are a lot of re-useable parts," he said.
"But I also might make a few brackets or foot plates and such after sand-blasting the chassis and equipment and giving the chassis an undercoat ready for a paint job.
"We get new tyres where necessary to make them look smart and the original badging is re-chromed in Perth."
Lindsay also is in charge of displaying the tractors for several district shows and, for example, at the Carnamah Show, he has at times exhibited between 25 and 30 tractors in working order, all with drivers.
"We also do a few other district shows on a smaller scale," he said.
Lindsay also starts up each tractor every six months.
"They all get a run and I check over working parts and it helps to keep the engines clean," he said.
Lindsay uses "ultimate" petrol on the Waterloo Boy because it leaves no residues.
As far as tourists are concerned, Lindsay presents a friendly face.
"The guys get out of the cars to have a look and the wives stay behind but I go over and invite them in for a cuppa," Lindsay said.
"They are pleasantly surprised at what they see and end up enjoying the experience.
"This is not just a shed full of tractors, it's a living history of part of agriculture."
Torque can attest to that.
A tale of history
HAL bought the Waterloo Boy in 2006 from a doctor in a south Los Angeles county who was selling his collection of 20 John Deere models.
"I had to buy the entire collection to get the Waterloo Boy, so I picked out five other models to bring back to Carnamah and I sold the rest at auction in the US," Hal said.
"The Waterloo Boy was a rusted relic but I knew we could restore it and it took Peter Coyne, Lindsay and me six months to get it back to its original shape.
"We sand-blasted it down, we got the gears and pinions cast and cut and we made sure everything was done to original specifications, including locally-made fenders.
"Then I bought specially-formulated John Deere green paint from Perth and Alan Kidd painted it in Carnamah."
When curator Lindsay Isbister first ordered paint for another restored John Deere model, he told the Perth supplier he wanted "Hal Walton green".
Although it is referred to as a John Deere Waterloo Boy, Hal's model was built in 1917 by the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company and simply named Waterloo Boy Tractor (Model R), the year before John Deere bought the company and re-badged it while retaining the name.
According to Deere, it had not entered the tractor market until then because its research and development over the past six years had shown no cost savings compared to horses.
True story.
If you have the love
HAL is looking for two full-time mechanics for 12 months work restoring old tractors.
Some of them include John Deere 8430, 4630 and 4620 models and Chamberlain C6 100 and 354 models.
"They don't have to be fully qualified but they have to have some mechanical nous," Hal said.
The reason for his need for extra staff is simple - he and Lindsay are no longer the young sprites they used to be.
If you think you have the skills and the passion for the job, ring Hal on 0428 511 275.
