Ransomes gets its first outing in 10 years for GVC exhibit

1963 Ransomes MG40

When Gary Linard decided to show his 1963 Ransomes MG40 crawler tractor in the Gippsland Vehicle Collection’s current Gone Farmin’ exhibit (on show until the end of June), he thought he better give it a bit of “polish”.

“I restored this beast around 17 years ago, but it hasn’t seen sunshine in more than 10,” Mr Linard said.

“But it’s all up and running. It had some very old fuel, but once it was drained and the lines, pump and carby were flushed, it was chugging along quite nicely.”

The Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Co MG series single-cylinder four-stroke engine crawler tractors were designed to operate on small orchards, vineyards and market gardens. Mr Linard’s Ransomes features the optional power take-off drive and hydraulic three-point linkage.

It is also a stand out green and red colour. Traditionally, the MG series was blue and red, but some were specially made in green and red for the UK Forestry Commission. When demand in Australia outstripped supply, some of those special orders were diverted here.

The first Model MG2 was released in 1936, with the small tracked design proving popular in the UK. A total of about 15,000 Ransomes MG series tractors were built, including about 1370 of the later MG40s. In Victoria, the Ransomes crawler tractors were imported by Ruston & Hornsby Ltd.

There are plenty more reasons to have a good look around the Gone Farmin’ Display as well, so make sure you come along and have a look before the theme changes over in July. And if farming vehicles aren’t your area of interest, there are also plenty of other vehicles and memorabilia on show to get your nostalgia levels peaking.