Posted by IanT on 08/03/2018 23:26:00:
Yes!
Clearly a reply to the thread tittle?
In that case,+1.
I used to ride (perched!) at the side/back of a Standard Fordson while ploughing. My job was to trip the plough out of, and in to, work at the headlands each end of the field. I was about 7 and my brother was about 9. He steered the tractor and operated the clutch pedal. Dad, I think, kept the furrow reasonably staight with our other tractor – by adjusting the inside furrow width, as necessay, of his plough. This would have been after school and while the farm worker went off to milk the cows. .
My other duty, while plowing, was to replace the engine governor rod, when it fell off and the engine revved at full speed. The rod was very adjacent to the fan blades, but I knew I needed to keep my hands away from the spinning fan. Can’t remember actually being trained about the risks involved – only how to do it.
We knew to oil the mowing machine cutter bar while standing behind the oscillating knife; we knew to keep away from the (unguarded) flywheel of the hay baler; etc,etc. I was driving a large tractor, on my own, by the age of about 7 or 8. I dared not stall it as I could not restart it (engine started with a handle). If I needed to stop the engine, I parked it on a steep slope and did a rolling start, if necessary.
I was steering a D8 Caterpillar with Euclid scraper at the age of 12, and cutting at 13. My elder brother used to drive to the cut and back, unsupervised, while the regular driver had a rest/snack. The only bit he was not allowed to do unsupervised, was to empty the box at the tip – a steep down-hill run while operating the emptying cable mechanism.
Times have certainly changed!