"Like-New" Farmall Collection

"Like-New" Farmall Collection TRACTORS Antiques 27-6-20 Charles McLaughlin grew up with Farmall tractors and farmed with them all his life. Six years ago the retired Alpha, Ill., farmer started collecting them and he now has one of the country's best collections of Farmalls. "Some people have more Farmall tractors, but all of mine are completely restored to original operating condition," says Charles, who has reconditioned a total of 54 models, including one of nearly every model built between 1931 and 1960. "The first year I started collecting Farmalls I only bought two tractors. After that I kept buying anywhere from three to ten models every year. Most of them didn't run when I got them," says McLaughlin. He keeps his tractors in a couple of new sheds that he built just for his tractor collection. He displays all the tractors at an "open house" held for four days every August. This past year was his sixth annual show. The tractors are lined up in rows next to a busy highway, accompanied by a large sign that reads "Charlie's Home For Retired Farmalls." Each tractor has a sign indicating the year and model number. "It's quite a job to get all the tractors out of the sheds and line them up. It takes about a day and a half," says McLaughlin. "I put pennants up around the tractors and even make up badges for visitors. I schedule the open house to coincide with a local fair and rodeo so there's always a lot of traffic going by to see my tractors. Many people ask me if any of my tractors are for sale, but I have to tell them no." McLaughlin says he buys the tractors mostly by word of mouth from private owners. "Tracking down the whereabouts of the models I want is half the fun of collecting and restoring them," he says. Some of the tractors are quite rare. His oldest tractor is a 1931 Farmall Regular; the newest a 1960 560. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles McLaughlin, 2812 Illinois Hwy. 17, Alpha, Ill. 61413 (ph 309 629-8581).

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