Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing

[kgw]

Hey Charlie & others---help me see if my memories from 8-10 yrs of age 
are in the ballpark!  What I remember (from the early 50s, Wake County, 
NC, was a tobacco "sledge"---or "sled"??  just a long skinny box on 
runners..???  Pulled by a mule, and then later on by a JD M.   BTW, the 
M's exhaust manifold was a wonderful device to watch those big ol 
tobacco worms squirm on!!

GeneW
Elgin, IL

charlie hill wrote:

> Hi David,  we had some like that here too.  I almost believe those 
> were manufactured or at least started out that way and were copied.  
> We  started seeing them about the time we started seeing the first 
> "harvesters" not the new, automatic mechanical harvesters we have now 
> but the old ones that several people rode on that had the big chain 
> drive front wheel and usually a Wisconsin engine pulling it.
>
> Charlie
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Bruce" <davidbruce at yadtel.net>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 7:57 PM
> Subject: Re: Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing
>
>
>> The version here was two wheeled, on a metal trailer chassis with a 
>> wooden deck angled from the sides into the middle of the "trailer".  
>> The front and back were both made of wood and about 4 feet above the 
>> deck.  They were narrow enough to fit in the field in a "blank balk" 
>> (one row was skipped during plant setting to make the blank).  Those 
>> that ran on the county roads often also had a trap as a cover so the 
>> leaves could be tied down to prevent loose leaves flying.
>> Mechanical harvesters are now moving in and the design of the 
>> "tobacco trailers" is changing again.
>>
>> David
>> NW NC
>>
>> charlie hill wrote:
>>
>>> Al,  the first tobacco trucks I remember were 4 wheeled with a front 
>>> axle that pivoted under the front of the "truck". (For those 
>>> following along Al grew up about maybe 60 miles from where I did and 
>>> I'm sure he's seen these same carts)  The whole rig was made usually 
>>> out of oak or maybe cypress.  If they were made of pine it was 
>>> probably heart pine.  Even the wheels were wooden with a metal rim.  
>>> They were only about maybe  10" to 1 foot diameter and about 2 1/2 
>>> or 3 inches thick. The axle frames were wooden with a piece of iron 
>>> rod about 3/4 diameter fastened to the bottom and extending through 
>>> the wheel center with a big washer and a nail or something holding 
>>> the wheel on.
>>>
>>> The deck of the truck or cart  (depending on where you live), was a 
>>> flat wood deck about 30" wide and just above the small wheels.  It 
>>> had a hole drilled in each corner and one half way down each side. A 
>>> post, usually made of white  oak, was driven in the holes.  The top 
>>> of the post had a nail driven in it with the head cut off.  A burlap 
>>> curtain hung from the nails and encircled the truck to hold the 
>>> carefully laid tobacco leaves in place. These were made to be pulled 
>>> by mules.
>>>
>>> Later on we went to a "truck" that was about 3 feet wide and had one 
>>> old car axle under the middle and a tongue to hitch it to the 
>>> tractor.  They had a bulkhead at each end and a burlap curtain 
>>> attached to a 1x4 that ran between the bulkheads at the top.  They 
>>> could be taken loose and rolled down out of the way when the load of 
>>> tobacco got to the barn. Most of these were made of pine around 
>>> home.  They weren't intended to last as long as the old 4 wheel type.
>>>
>>> Charlie
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> AT mailing list
>> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
>> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>> Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.7/436 - Release Date: 9/1/2006
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>
>