Llandudno Transport Festival’s evening tractor road run

David Reed reports on the annual Llandudno Transport Festival’s evening tractor road run held over the first May Bank Holiday weekend.

The annual Llandudno Transport Festival is a major event in the northern rally calendar for numerous reasons. Held at Bodafon Fields alongside the promenade, the event hosts hundreds of exhibits including commercial vehicles, cars, buses, motorbikes and, of course, lots of classic tractors. Many manufacturers are represented, with the Massey Ferguson name being number one here. They are a popular exhibit lined up together on the show field, with many visitors taking the time to wander among them.

The highlight of this year’s event was the evening road run around the Great Orme, where the route takes the participants on a winding road between the high cliffs and the sea below – a run not to be missed. The run has not taken place in recent years due to the weather, but that wasn’t the case this year!

Taking the opportunity to take a trip around the Great Orme was Steve Llewelyn on his 1951 Ferguson TE-D 20, which was bought from Bluith Wells in around 2013 and restored, while Lucy Mason entered a 1952 Ferguson TE-D 20 fitted with a potato planter.

Moving from the grey livery to the red was Charlie Edwards’ 1964 Massey Ferguson 35, which was first used at Hadlow College in Kent by students studying the farming courses. It was restored there and later ended up in Wales from where it passed to Charlie. Slightly older was Ethan Hocking’s 1959 MF 35, which worked in North Wales all its life; the tractor was bought in 2017 and mainly retains its original bodywork.

Then came George Newton’s MF 35, which dated from 1961. It worked at Barrow-in-Furness and was bought from a farm sale, while John Valentine had made the trip down from Scotland with his 1963 Massey Ferguson 35X, which was complete with cab. This example was new in the Aberdeen area, and worked on a farm; it was described by John as being a ‘good little tractor’, and was seen on the road run around the Great Orme.

On a larger scale was David Badger’s 1968 Massey Ferguson 135, which was fitted with front weights and retained its working look, while David Read’s 1967 MF 135 paintwork had a metallic look – another tractor that made a trip around the Great Orme.

There were some yellow MF industrials to enjoy, too, including B Chadwick’s 40, which was in great condition and certainly got the cameras clicking. Also getting a lot of attention was Keith Mitchell’s 1965 Massey Ferguson 2135, which was also looking resplendent in its yellow livery – both machines were popular exhibits.

But there was no argument about which was the biggest Massey Ferguson on show. That honour went to Neil Robert’s 1963 Massey Ferguson 97, which was imported into the UK during 2009. Later passing to Neil, it has been a popular exhibit at many shows in recent years, with Neil admitting that he had always been interested in the MF 97. It was another tractor that powered around the Great Orme and delighted onlookers.

All-in-all, there was a varied display of MF tractors at Llandudno, a trend that hopefully will continue in years to come.

This event report comes from the latest issue of Classic Massey & Ferguson Enthusiast, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE