Great piece of British tractor history! Regards from Australia.

Just watched this video for the first time and read some of the comments below . The lose of tractor manufacturers in the U.K. has nothing to do with poor quality , it all came down to industrial agriculture and the destruction of the family farm . When 1 farm with 4 200 hp tractors replaces 20 farms with 2 50hp tractors each , manufacturers disappear . We used British built IH and Case tractors on our farm in Canada and they were as good as any out there . It's a shame the small family farm got killed by big industry .

And by 2008 the whole factory was converted to another retail park. I worked for the main contractor on that job. What a shame it sells retail tat today instead of still making tractors.

It's easy to look back with hindsight....or scoff ...but fair play to the man...having the vision and the balls to out and give it a go....well done..... if slightly more folk were of a similar mindset and there were less businesses run by penny touching accountants we may have a far better manufacturing base in the uk

Wonderful to see some proper tractors and good traditional farming of the 1970s and 80s

My great uncle worked at that plant in Bathgate. Reckons the union used to call dor a strike if there was no tea in canteen. No wonder it shut it doors

Honest capable management instill that sense of fairness that breeds team work. Something quite revolutionary back in the day.

Mr. Nickerson is an amazing man!

Its upsetting to see such a great company gone!

Allways loved the track marshall 135 and 155

Fantastic, thanks for this. We had a Track Marshall on our farm which pulled the dowdeswell 6 furrow. Nice to see this.

I worked at MF in Coventry for 34 years, it closed with full order books, why well the American owners ADCO just assist stripped the factory, now this was a shame!

@carlmiller9946

3 жыл бұрын

The real reason was that either Coventry or the MF factory in France had to close, and, AGCO were aggressively persuaded by the French to keep their factory open and us Brits just let these things happen. Of course at the time very little was broadcast about this as usual British manufacturing took a back seat to keeping the EU dream going. Can't upset the EU, but we allowed them to asset strip the UK, and for what?

@rossifan7347

3 жыл бұрын

We had a 135, 550, 590 2wd & 4wd, 699 and a cracking 2680 . Also a MF 500 drill and 525 combine...........ahh, those summers..

Thanks for putting this up its so hard to find anything like it anywhere that tape was a lucky find:)

We had Leyland and Marshall tractors on our farm, eighty two and one ten hp, and they were excellent work horses with a noise you never forget

@Whizzy-jx3qe

2 жыл бұрын

They were good pullers and reliable

I'm interested in where this came from. Have you seen any other footage such as this ? My dad has a Marshall 802 himself so finding these kind of things is great

Wow great video. I've always been a fan of the Marshall tractors and it's always great to see inside any tractor factory.

It's a shame things ended as they did for marshall, and tractors building in Britain !!

@vladimirINPUT

9 жыл бұрын

What happened, exactly? I haven't managed to find anything other than that "the Nickerson Group went bust in 1985". While this segment is a bit of a promotional video, it still actually seemed as they had a sound idea of how to run a factory.

@jccs2219

4 жыл бұрын

The reason Marshall closed was because at the start the tractors were having issues. when the farmers phoned Marshall to tell them about there problems, Marshall didn’t really want to fix them. So the farmers lost confidence in Marshall so they went and bought foreign crap instead

@dodge-ut6ti

2 жыл бұрын

SAME HERE IN THE USA

@grahamariss2111

Жыл бұрын

​@KURZcizi04 Well did not buy crap, at the time you had both Massey at Coventry and Ford down south still in ghe UK. Ford became New Holland and still assemble in the UK along with Case tractors which have their origin in Agri Fiat.

Same story asset stripped all over the UK..... This country needs to start manufacturing again.

@remco8170

5 жыл бұрын

jimmycowman i miss the good old ford tractors

Marshall tractors were improvement to Leyland tractors but poor business practices n outlook into future markets. Not enough dealership oversea. It’s shame they weren’t pick up by JCB. Just selling tractors is not enough.

i want to see more david brown tractor videos

No way they could compete in a globalized economy against massive conglomerates

6:31 Old boy blows smoke in the owners face on the factory floor...Jeez...no wonder it didn't work out..lol

@glennlingard7851

7 ай бұрын

That’s when before smokers were treated like leaper’s.

Thankey very much for sharing this great exclusive video from Marshall tractors. I'm interested where this video was found? any more videos from this article?

@allwingame

9 жыл бұрын

hi I found it on a old video tape , it was on tv in 1983/4 , I have no more videos on marshall/Leyland factories sorry. ive seen nothing else on marshall/Leyland factories anywhere else a shame .......

Really sad that Leyland went...so much so if I had the chance and the money I would bring it back...

@allwingame

3 жыл бұрын

Yes good idea

@davidrobertson376

3 жыл бұрын

@@allwingame I agree from Australia. I have two Leylands out here in the colonies

So many good things lost. Here’s a list that I can think of. David brown Leyland Marshall Fiatagri Poclain International Hymac Richier Real fords

@oloflarsson8213

4 жыл бұрын

Ferguson 20 diesel Z

@seamusmcmahon1182

3 жыл бұрын

Although Leyland Marshall were just a Nuffield. But a shame that particular Marshall didn't make it. It was a fine tractor

@ferguson20diesel49

3 жыл бұрын

@@seamusmcmahon1182 Renault gone.

@mrt5293

3 жыл бұрын

Fiat own CNH, is one of the largest manufacturers in the world today

Done a Wikipedia for Charles Nickerson can’t find nothing for him it’s like he vanished into tin air.

@allwingame

2 жыл бұрын

It would be interesting to find out what happened to him after the demise of marshall tractors

@JonsPitStopAndMore

2 жыл бұрын

They sold to McConnell tractors. Nickerson took his money and run by the sounds of it

@castrolgtx5064

2 жыл бұрын

@@JonsPitStopAndMore Thanks for sharing your information

@crimsonsunshine264

2 жыл бұрын

Too busy buggering about motor racing when he should have been watching his job

@robo919

8 ай бұрын

Does anyone know what happened to Charles Nickerson?

Nothing scrap about them. In some ways they were ahead of their time. How many other tractors had synchronised gear boxes in that era??? If they were scrap so many wouldnt of survived to this day....

@hedydd2

5 жыл бұрын

They were OK and the Sekura cab was great but also used by David Brown. IH and DB also had synchro gearboxes and Ford were about to have them too. The problem for Marshall was that the gearbox did only have three ratios in each range and with 40k becoming popular the first gear in high range was far too high a ratio to start with a load. That and the limited budget to develop and market the ZF transmission new higher horsepower models led to a sharp fall in sales even though there were some late developments to the smaller tractors to increase the 9x3 number of ratios available

@American-Motors-Corporation

4 жыл бұрын

American white had synchronized gearboxes!! John Deere... yep plenty of brands at that time had synchronization!!

@jccs2219

4 жыл бұрын

Marshall’s 804 XL and 904XL had creeper boxes not a lot of other manufacturers had them

@seamusmcmahon1182

3 жыл бұрын

They were very outdated designed and no powershift that's where David brown had the edge. He was a bit too late getting the latest model out

@lesterkirby3367

3 жыл бұрын

Fiat 1000s ... 100 90... i drove them back in the 80s from ireland...😉

The firm went bust in 1985 with debts of £11.25 mn, so no it couldn’t be done !!

They were producing this stuff at the same time as the 90 series.. All they had to do was buy one and copy it.. But no, head in the sand and they let the customers decide. They did. They quit buying junk. I was selling an 802 that I gave 2200 for thirty years ago. I had replaced the engine once and the clutch four times in a year. The tractor stood me 5500. After about 100 spent on auto trader to try to get rid of it. I ended up taking 120 a tonne for it. The two nearly new goodyear radials on the back of it were worth more than the tractor.. Pure scrap

@cotswoldclassiccarrestorat8396

5 жыл бұрын

Replace a clutch 4 times in a year, sounds more like incompetent mechanic, don't blame the tractor.

Best tractor boy far at that was same and English and Irish people were afraid to buy them

Jimmycowman were you affiliated with marshalls ? great video thanks where did you find it ? Do you have any knowledge of any other Leyland/marshall video's

@allwingame

9 жыл бұрын

hi no im not connected to marshall tractors, I went around the factory in the early 80's through a dealership called burgesses..... we brought a new marshall 804 in 1986 {still got it} I found this on a old video tape ,don't think ive got anymore... its a shame how british tractors have gone....

@MrSpeedbuff

9 жыл бұрын

Sure is too bad thanks for posting it

They made it when they got one onto emmerdale farm lol

3/45 nuffield. 10/60. 384,270,272 285/2100.

What became of the company?

@mfitzy100

3 жыл бұрын

Went bust by the late 80s I think. Sold Austrian rebadge Steyrs briefly until it all but disappeared completely. Not a shocker really when you see the set up and products they had. Completely outdated production and products

@charliemccahill2131

Жыл бұрын

The remaining stock was bought by John Charnleys then they made JWD tractors from the late 90s they were extremely rare tractors

I wonder how "know it all" Nickerson was to work for lol

any one driving one in 2018 ?

@johndawkes7339

5 жыл бұрын

Not a marshall, but we have a great old Nuffield 342, which the underpinnings are near enough the same, and that old girl will still do a days work.

@neilphillips162

5 жыл бұрын

My mate has one in bloody good nik 👍

@user-nn5cg3zh8n

5 жыл бұрын

270

@mfjb1967

5 жыл бұрын

still use Track Marshall 155 crawler,

@TheCattlekings

4 жыл бұрын

have a Leyland 472 that we use just to pull a harrow around an arena here in the Utah We really don't know much about these tractors

British engineering takes a back seat to nobody!

i love pretty women and david brown tractors

They look a bit like Ford tractors, like the 7610.

Yet here we are today buying cheap imports from india and eles where yet we could bot support wat we had shameful

@kieranosullivan02

3 жыл бұрын

True this is

@crimsonsunshine264

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely

They were working on 60s technology for too long , synchro gearboxes came too late ,100 hp 6 cyl engins matched to 65 hp Nuffield gearboxes etc ,dry brakes etc and horrific union probs in the 70s with BL too many chiefs and not enough Indians

@Ketis1985

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. They should have made some drastic changes to the design in early 70s especially in rear part of the tractor like 3 point linkage and position of the PTO axle. I quess the 4/98 and 6/98 engines were pretty good?

it's a real shame theres no tractors being built in the UK and Ireland anymore, but to be fair it was kind of our own fault for such crappy quality

@josephtibbs500

7 жыл бұрын

hey they werent all bad we have a a marshall 602 and a john deere 6210 we use the marshall more, well thats only because its so manoeuvrable and is our loader tractor

@theenglishmechanic.

6 жыл бұрын

Apparently New Holland build tractors on the UK...... and has been for many years.......

@mfitzy100

6 жыл бұрын

Richie Hanley they do. New Holland and JCB still make in England

@dmcg6074

5 жыл бұрын

2nd biggest tractor plant in Europe is in Essex...still.

@alexhickey5633

5 жыл бұрын

Where in ireland did they make tractors. Never knew they were made here tbh

40 year.s out of date before they started German. S light years ahead

@bigteddy66

3 жыл бұрын

German tractors in those days were not great.

I had four of them. Pure junk. Dropped liners, and clutch breaking fingers.. Can't split them, so you have to pull the dash and the steering and the floor outta the cab.. Torture..

@cotswoldclassiccarrestorat8396

5 жыл бұрын

Completely disagree, to replace the clutch you simply cut a hole in the floor for access, then it's a relatively easy job. Didn't need to remove steering or dashboard. I Have a 804 on a loader and looked at swapping it for a new JD, but after a week the Marshall proved much better dynamically. The engine is also very good and easy to work on.

@michaelpowell9640

5 жыл бұрын

My Leyland 282s were awesome tractors, the could sure shift on the road 💨💨💨

@cotswoldclassiccarrestorat8396

5 жыл бұрын

Got to be said re-reading your comment if they were such junk why the fuck keep buying them them? The UK really is a twats paradise!

@davel6780

3 жыл бұрын

We had a 804 I used to use it for wrapping mainly great tidy tractor for it fast enough on the pump for the wrapper and a good lock too, great traction in soft ground and great underneath clearance off the ground, well they didn’t come without there problems we did pistons and liners in the engine all right, and the clutch was soft in them we put a.m. not sure maybe a few but the last clutch we fitted it it was a heavy duty clutch bigger diameter I think but never had a problem with it after, and we had a problem with the crown wheel in it it broke up on us and locked the tractor up in the back wheels so we got one from a dealer here years ago that was closing down and gave it to us for basically free, so got her back working again and unfortunately one day she was outside the shed with the mower on from the day before and I was out working and my dad rang me to say the tractor went up on fire and that was the end of her, well burnt the whole cab on it, so sold her on to a farmer an hour away, since then we fit an isolation switch to every machine we buy, the wiring in them wasent great, but talk about a misery on fuel for a 4 cylinder turbo tractor, and some serious speed on the road, well high reverse in them was just stupid fast alright, but like any tractor they all give there trouble no matter what make, but acourse a shame they did stopped making them, with a few more changes in them would ave put pressure on some of the other competitors of that time if they kept going

@lawnseed1500

3 жыл бұрын

@@davel6780 lovely tractor to Plough with.. Great gripper with the kleibers. For a light tractor they were really sweet.. Again the clutch let them down.. The explorer cab on them still compares well with any modern cab

Kubota is king now

too bad tractors are garbage now

Scrap. Hence why they went out of buisness

@allwingame

6 жыл бұрын

How can they be scrap when so many are still in use today? It was all part of this country importing everything and making nothing. Role on brexit...

@trevorz1299

5 жыл бұрын

@@allwingame also here in the netherlands , many nuffields from the 60 s and david browns from the 70 s working

@michaelpowell9640

5 жыл бұрын

Yes unfortunately everything is just imported, used to have Leyland 282s brilliant tractors what balls everything up was the union's on strike nothing could be manufactured.

Unfortunately completely outdated by this time. Compare with the likes of Fendt or Renault Agro (now Claas) these tractors were Stone Age technology. The factory itself looks like an old workshop

Pure scrap. The plain and simple truth. Look at the opposition at the time. Fiat 90 series. Renault German built with mwm engines.. Poor Marshall put putting along with the rubbish bmc engine.. Nightmare

@johndawkes7339

5 жыл бұрын

Funny you should say that because amongst people who really know engines the bmc and Leyland engines are legendary for reliability and ruggedness and for a LONG time jcb used them before they moved over to perkins.

@ferguson20diesel49

5 жыл бұрын

In fairness the 90 series fiat is legendary and we still own and does all our pulling for us. Now I’m not saying British made machine are scrap. I love they are great. We’ve had over 60 tractors in my time so far. But I can feel now, some weren’t liked because some were know to be hard started and so on. International didn’t take off at all here.

@janoginski5557

11 ай бұрын

Well said John, the claim that the BMC engine was rubbish is total rubbish, an ultra reliable engine in my experience. We had a JCB mk 2c, ( wheeled back acter) on the farm, never missed a beat. I used to do a multitude of work around the farm and often many hours of heavy constant work. I don’t think you’ll meet an operator who has many negative memories, the smell from the hot hydraulics and the characteristic sound from the BMC engine, I can still smell & hear it now. Great memories.

A foolish man £11.25 of debts busted !!