DAVID BROWN tractors hold a very special place in the affections of transport enthusiasts.

A new book about the vehicles and the firm that built them traces the success story from the Victorian era right up to the production of the 94 series.

The book, David Brown Tractors: A British Legend, has been written by Colin Holwell.

It begins the story in 1860, when the firm employed just two workers, making wooden gear patterns for the textile industry.

The company, synonymous with Meltham, became the largest gear maker in the country, creating David Brown Gears at Lockwood.

Such is the interest in the company that another book has come out recently - Stuart Gibbard's The David Brown Tractor Story (1936-1948), the first of a three-part series.

On a visit to America in the early 1930s David Brown was impressed by the powerful machines used for farming tracts of land. Many tractors were imported from America.

Innovative Mr Brown realised there would be a market for rugged British machines.

Mr Holwell's colourful A4-size book is crammed with technical detail and historical facts about the mechanical workhorses, as well as evocative photos of the tractors in use.

Mechanical advances made in the Second World War were transferred into peacetime engineering, resulting in bigger and better models.

Fans will be fascinated by the pictures of the unusual Trackmaster series, the prototype of the 850 Implematic, and the classy David Brown 880 Selectamatic.

David Brown Tractors: A British Legend is published by Japonica Press at £19.95. It is available from the Bookworm shop in Meltham.

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