Double Mould Board ploughing Rumster Forest
The photograph is courtesy of the family of George Dey. George took many forestry photographs in his forestry career and many are now shown on this web site. Check under ‘Groups’ and George Dey Collection.
This very distinctive Caterpillar D4 tractor was driven by Donnie Junor from the Black Isle. The tractor was classed as a Super Low Ground Pressure machine as its running gear had been specially extended sideways. Longer drive shafts and wider track diagonal braces positioned the driving sprocket and idle wheel well out from the sides of the body allowing the widest track plates with further extensions welded on either side to be fitted. Those extensions with their strengthening webs on the outside of the track plates can clearly be seen. From memory the overall width of the tractor was just inside 4 metres and presented problems at many gates.
The plough with a double furrow head has been given extra wide tyres to balance the ground pressures achieved by the tractor. This particular plough head has had a couple of wings added at the rear to slice into the plough furrow as it is extruded by the mould board. This helped ‘thin’ down the furrow for easier planting and also pushed the planting position a little further from the drain edge thus giving a little more wind stability in later life. The aim was to get 2 metre spacing between trees across the plough drain as well as across the platform.
It is certainly Donnie sitting on the machine in typical pose keeping an eye on the distance and alignment with the previous furrow. The ploughing site is again certainly a Caithness feature with long areas of unbroken peat, very gentle slopes and dips and enormous plough runs in some cases over a kilometre.
Has anyone heard of another machine in this country like this D4?
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Groups: Caithness and Sutherland, Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, George Dey Forestry Collection, Tractors Ploughs and Drainage Machines