Come experience Living History with over 400 antique tractors from all over the world. More than 150 acres of the Best family ranch in Woodland will be set aside for this event, showcasing antique farm equiment from all over the world including machines, horses, mules, gas and steam engines from Australia, England, Norway, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa.
Many one-of-a-kind pieces will be displayed and demonstrated, including a fully operational full-scale replica of a Holt steam crawler (circa 1906), and a completely restored 1905 Holt ground propelled harvester, pulled by a 26-mule team. The only operational Best Harvester will be pulled by a 1905 Best Steam Traction Engine and will be demonstrated each day, along with others harvesting 30 acres of grain. Daily parades, antique engines, steam displays and live music will also enliven the event. And food.
Massive, antique earth-moving equipment used to construct the Hoover Dam, the Alaskan Pipeline, and highway systems, will also be demonstrated throughout the show. Many of these antique machines are extremely rare due to the impact of scrap metal drives which claimed most examples during WWII. "I've talked to collectors that were able to come through with pre-WWII equipment because they hid their tractors, sometimes burying them in the ground or haystacks to prevent them from being used for scrap metal and melted down in the war," explains Allen Harris, an antique tractor collector from Australia and member of ACMOC [Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owner's Club].
The show is hosted by the Heidrick Ag Museum Center, and held on Dan Best Jr's ranch, who is the grandson of one of Caterpillar's founders and the first Chairman of the Board, C.L. Best. |
