Huge Farm Collection Blows People Away
Tom Renner is into horsepower and the equipment it powers, whether generated by his 40 Belgian draft horses or the 200 farm tractors he has collected. The tractors and the equipment for them and his horses are just the start. Thousands of other ag artifacts fill several buildings on his farm, including one that is 80 by 300 ft. with three floors.
Renner admits to collecting just about anything used on the farm. A lot of the older items dating back to the early 1800’s were homemade or made by a local blacksmith. That includes hundreds of horse-drawn items, mostly tillage-related.
“Often a blacksmith would pick up on a farmer’s idea and improve it and begin making it to sell,” says Renner.
Many of those ideas have ended up in Renner’s collection. The basis for the collection was things he remembers using as a boy or that his father or grandparents or even earlier generations used and kept.
Renner is the fifth generation to farm the land, a tradition followed by his son Jake and grandson, Jonathan. Like Renner, they are very involved in the collection. All are hands-on and strive for authenticity and longevity of items restored. That includes wood as well as metal.
“We use linseed oil to keep the wood alive,” says Renner. “We don’t use clear varnish over the oil. It looks great at first, but then gets dark with age, and you can’t bring it back.”
Wooden items get washed with a wood cleaner and treated with linseed oil. “Anything that is wood gets three coats when we add it to the collection and more later,” he says. “We have box wagons that have been treated three times in 10 years.”
Metal items to be repainted or in need of substantial cleaning get a soda blast. Renner won’t sandblast, concerned it will get into joints or under seals.
“About 75 percent of our metal equipment is totally repainted,” he says. “If it has a decent coat of paint on it and it isn’t rusty, we will use a clear coat. If there is rust, we use from 600 to 1500-grade sandpaper to take the rust off and make it shiny. Then we put the clear coat on.”
In addition to their farming operation, the Renners also operate a John Deere dealership started by Tom in 1973. He notes that people occasionally stop by the dealership with an item or to talk.
Tractors and equipment to go with them cover the gamut from early to more modern. A rare subset of the tractor collection is a group of around 10 where less than 100 were ever made. These include a Deere 2510 High Crop Diesel and a 3010 Diesel Orchard.
“We have a Deere 4230 low profile powershift, which is pretty rare, and a Deere 1010,” says Renner’s grandson Jonathan. “It is one of only one made.”
One of Tom Renner’s personal favorites is the WA-14, made by the Wagoner Tractor Co. “There were only 26 of them made,” he says. “It is a rare, big 4-WD. Most were sold in the West in the late 70’s and 80’s.”
Everything in Renner’s collection is in working order. Horses, tractors and more can be seen at the Renners’s show, 100 Years of Horsepower, held every other year on the home farm.
One thing that isn’t ending anytime soon is collecting and restoring. A December video posted to the Renner YouTube channel shows Tom walking through 4-WD tractors yet to be restored. They include a 1972 Versatile 700, an International 4100, an 1805 Massey Ferguson, a Steiger Bearcat 225, a White 4-180 and a dozen more.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Renner Stock Farms, 3412 Carlyle Ave, Belleville, Ill. 62221 (ph 618-973-4596; www.facebook.com/rennerstockfarms).
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Huge Farm Collection Blows People Away TRACTORS Antiques Tom Renner is into horsepower and the equipment it powers whether generated by his 40 Belgian draft horses or the 200 farm tractors he has collected The tractors and the equipment for them and his horses are just the start Thousands of other ag artifacts fill several buildings on his farm including one that is 80 by 300 ft with three floors Renner admits to collecting just about anything used on the farm A lot of the older items dating back to the early 1800’s were homemade or made by a local blacksmith That includes hundreds of horse-drawn items mostly tillage-related “Often a blacksmith would pick up on a farmer’s idea and improve it and begin making it to sell ” says Renner Many of those ideas have ended up in Renner’s collection The basis for the collection was things he remembers using as a boy or that his father or grandparents or even earlier generations used and kept Renner is the fifth generation to farm the land a tradition followed by his son Jake and grandson Jonathan Like Renner they are very involved in the collection All are hands-on and strive for authenticity and longevity of items restored That includes wood as well as metal “We use linseed oil to keep the wood alive ” says Renner “We don’t use clear varnish over the oil It looks great at first but then gets dark with age and you can’t bring it back ” Wooden items get washed with a wood cleaner and treated with linseed oil “Anything that is wood gets three coats when we add it to the collection and more later ” he says “We have box wagons that have been treated three times in 10 years ” Metal items to be repainted or in need of substantial cleaning get a soda blast Renner won’t sandblast concerned it will get into joints or under seals “About 75 percent of our metal equipment is totally repainted ” he says “If it has a decent coat of paint on it and it isn’t rusty we will use a clear coat If there is rust we use from 600 to 1500-grade sandpaper to take the rust off and make it shiny Then we put the clear coat on ” In addition to their farming operation the Renners also operate a John Deere dealership started by Tom in 1973 He notes that people occasionally stop by the dealership with an item or to talk Tractors and equipment to go with them cover the gamut from early to more modern A rare subset of the tractor collection is a group of around 10 where less than 100 were ever made These include a Deere 2510 High Crop Diesel and a 3010 Diesel Orchard “We have a Deere 4230 low profile powershift which is pretty rare and a Deere 1010 ” says Renner’s grandson Jonathan “It is one of only one made ” One of Tom Renner’s personal favorites is the WA-14 made by the Wagoner Tractor Co “There were only 26 of them made ” he says “It is a rare big 4-WD Most were sold in the West in the late 70’s and 80’s ” Everything in Renner’s collection is in working order Horses tractors and more can be seen at the Renners’s show 100 Years of Horsepower held every other year on the home farm One thing that isn’t ending anytime soon is collecting and restoring A December video posted to the Renner YouTube channel shows Tom walking through 4-WD tractors yet to be restored They include a 1972 Versatile 700 an International 4100 an 1805 Massey Ferguson a Steiger Bearcat 225 a White 4-180 and a dozen more Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Renner Stock Farms 3412 Carlyle Ave Belleville Ill 62221 ph 618-973-4596; www facebook com/rennerstockfarms
