AgriLand paid a visit to Co. Cork to meet the owner (pictured above) of a nostalgia-inducing Ford TW-25 – a ‘working classic’ that’s no stranger to machinery events across the county and, indeed, the wider region.
We spoke to John Cashman (from Co. Waterford) at the recent Mogeely Vintage Club silage event to find out more. John W Anderson produced this video (below).
John explained: “I’ve had this tractor for about three years. As you can see, she’s in excellent condition.
“At the time, I was looking for a TW-35. It was an iconic tractor back in the 1990s when I was in school.
“This TW-25 came up in Dublin and it was in fabulous condition. It had some embellishments made to it; it had solid front rims; and it had new tyres all round. It had a paint-job as well, so it was all in excellent condition.”
He added: “The key feature that I was interested in was a cab that was in good condition. I used that as a sign to guide me – as to whether the tractor’s been well looked after.
“The cab on this tractor is in excellent condition for its age; all the padding is intact; the seat’s in good condition.”
John noted that this was the second ‘collectible’ tractor that he had acquired – prompting him to “get involved in the classic scene – not realising that there was such a big following for classic tractors in the area”.
He said: “I bought myself a [Mengele] silage harvester to go on the back of the tractor; then all of these amazing events suddenly popped out of the woodwork that I could attend.
“The TW-35 was actually the range-topper of these tractors; the TW-25 was the second model down and it replaced the [earlier] TW-20 – with a longer nose and another fuel tank.”
John went on (in the video) to outline a key difference between the TW-25 and its more powerful sibling.
Complaints
He concluded: “Some people complain about Fords; they were known for problems with porous engines. Obviously, the ‘crash box’ in this tractor is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it.
As long as you look after them, they last forever.
