The Black Tractor

Probably the most famous tractor in the world "The Black Tractor" - currently housed at the Ulster Transport Museum. This tractor, built by Harry Ferguson himself has been brought to life with stunning imagery giving the opportunity to see it from all angles and great detail.

After Harry Ferguson had invented the 3 point linkage he needed a lightweight tractor to demonstrate its advantages. It became clear to him that the only way forward lay in building a prototype tractor incorporating his own inventions which could ultimately be built cheaply and be useful on the smallest farms as well as the largest.

As the design progressed Ferguson insisted that it should be painted black, probably because of his own liking for functional simplicity. The Black Tractor was completed in 1933 and immediately put to test and became the fore-runner of all modern day tractors with its 3 point linkage and hydraulics, weight transference and automatic depth control.

More than any other single development, this invention revolutionised the use of the farm tractor, and nearly all subsequent designs have incorporated its design principles. In particular the Black Tractor was the fore-runner of the TE20, lovingly known as the "Fergie", a descendant that became a common sight on farms all over Britain and the world in the 1940s and early 1950s.

The Black Tractor has recently been moved from the Science Museum in London to the Ulster Transport Museum in Belfast. It is on display in the Museum of Innovation Gallery at the Ulster Transport Museum. The gallery showcases stories of local pioneers who have made a global impact, thus preserving the legacy of Northern Ireland's innovators. The tractor is on loan to the museum by Harry Ferguson's family who recently travelled to Belfast for the unveiling of the exhibit.

For more information visit ulstertransportmuseum.org.