Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 6 : Fall 2010 | Page 18

one of the two “progressive drags.”

There’s much more to it than
just backing up my Farmall Super M
to the drag, that intricately designed
big hunk of mechanized steel, with
all its gears clanking and weights
working against me. No pull is ever
the same because of the different track
conditions, and the working status
of your old tractor. There’s constant
chatter and bantering back and forth
among members about weights and
where to place them, what gear to
go in, and the best direction to head
down the track. Everyone is always
talking about engines, drawbars,
pistons, plugs, RPM’s, weights, and
all that tractor jargon. I’m so lucky
because my husband handles all the
“technical stuff.” I just have to worry
about what gear I’m going in, how to
work the throttle and watching the
tires to see if they’re “biting.”

At each pull, there are odd
and even weight classes from 2,000
to 7,500 lbs, and the Open Class for
the big, weighted down, machines.
It’s especially fun to watch our Youth
Pullers. For them, these antique
tractors must seem pretty ancient.
Most of the tractors are pre-1960, so
were manufactured and in use long
before they were born. And, when
the day is done and another pull is
over, whether or not you’ve won any
ribbons, it’s been an incredibly great
time, with great friends, all bonded
together by their love of antique
tractors and our rural heritage.

For more information about
the Northern Maine Antique Tractor
Club and all of the club’s activities,
please visit our website at www.
northernmaineantiquetractorclub.
com.

Oh, and for the record, even
though I enjoy driving any antique
tractor, and I don’t really have a
preference over one make or model,
there’s nothing like the familiar and
comforting clank clank clank of
my Super M’s muffler cover softly
caressing the top of the stack, as I’m
sitting waiting in line to pull.

16 Antique Tractors FALL

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Photos © 2010 Tamra Kilcollins