The EX 10 prototype Tractor
Regarding the article from the Club Archives on page 18 of Journal No.112 (Spring 2025), I can throw some light on this tractor project for you.
Firstly the driver is the late Bob Moorcroft, a Ferguson Tractors Ltd original employee who in Massey Ferguson times was in the Product Planning Department based in Banner Lane and specialising in Implements. His son David Moorcroft OBE DL, is a former middle distance runner and world record holder at 5000 metres. Gold medal winner at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and Chief Executive UK Athletics 1997 to 2007.
The tractor is based on Dumper axles (both Benford and Thwaites local to Coventry) and is an effort to produce a very basic model for use instead of human labour or a donkey/beast of burden. Having just a drawbar to pull a small simple trailer or cultivator, there was also a detachable ‘skip’ to carry small loads. Its simplicity was exemplified by lack of instrumentation and any hydraulics, with an air cooled hand start single cylinder petrol engine, plus a rudimentary transmission making it easy to maintain and transport. Affordability would be paramount, where even a Ferguson TE20 or FE35 tractor was too expensive. It came about as part of the British Government Groundnut (peanut) Scheme envisaged for Tanganyika in East Africa, now part of Tanzania. This was eventually a very expensive failed scheme to cultivate tracts of land for the growing of peanuts over some three million acres for oilseeds used in margarine production, post the Second World War. Advisors and the then Labour Government failed to recognise the lack of rainfall, the harsh environment, access for transportation and poor local communications and any irrigation opportunities, together with poor soil conditions. Land clearance with heavy machinery included the use of Massey Harris tractors produced in the UK, a useful volume compensating for poor home sales. The African bush proved too much for the equipment, which included adapted Sherman tanks fitted with bulldozer blades and wrecking chains. Eventually the project was abandoned in scale, but this small Ferguson/MF tractor was developed as a possible follow up product for use in what then became a much smaller operation, not only related to this project but for other developing countries as the start of any farm mechanisation.
If the major Groundnut scheme had flourished, then the CX 10 tractor could have seen some form of production volumes. There were plans in place to make a batch of them for this type of use. Its identification of EX 10 was probably related to Ferguson Tractors nomenclature of ‘England Experimental’ Project 10, it was later categorised as CX 10 for Coventry Engineering Project 10 – no doubt when it had the Triple Triangle bonnet badge affixed in the 1950’s. This pre-production prototype, there was only one made, still existed for some years, stored in one of the buildings of the Field Test Department at Stoneleigh. I remember seeing it there a few times during my early career with Massey Ferguson. I also sometimes worked closely with Bob Moorcroft on a number of other projects relating to MF Implements. The tractor was obviously scrapped when Field Test later relocated to Banner Lane. It was somewhat of a major departure from the Ferguson System of Harry Ferguson, possibly promoted by Massey Harris due to their involvement in the Groundnut scheme. No doubt any British government department would not then grant any funds to continue with this prototype model’s development or production.
J Chris Clack
Published in journal No. 113, Summer 2025