Wine Road New Braintree, Massachusetts 01531.
Here are two photos of a 1939 John Deere ‘A’ with a
homemade cab, taken in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, during the
winter of 1945-46. This tractor was owned by Donald Adams, who was
hired by several towns to open country roads that were closed by
drifting snow. The V-plow was mounted on the arms of a Dingley
loader which was made in Franklin, Massachusetts. The loader
consisted of two straight pipes for push arms that were attached to
pivots on the rear axle, with a welded pipe design on the front
end.
These push arms were lifted by a single vertical piston mounted
on the front of the tractor through a cable and sheave arrangement
that can be seen in one photo. The Dingley was one of the first
hydraulic loaders in this area. The photo of the plowed area shows
the secret of the plowing ability of this rig. Due to the high
hydraulic lift, it was possible to maneuver to push and lift the
snow up over the snow banks on the sides of the road.
One photo shows a road after it was plowed by this tractor. I am
standing in front of the plow in the second photo which shows the
hydraulic lift arrangement.