| I took this picture a few weeks ago in Broadway, VA when I came home from school for the weekend. My mom told me about an older Allis Chalmers tractor that was sitting outside W.W. Motors on mainstreet in Broadway. I went out to look at it at about 10 at night. I forgot to take a flashlight with me when I went so I couldn't do a very good search for the serial number. I knew that many of these models had the SN back near the shifter, so I took a look. I took a piece of paper and a pencil and tried to trace the serial number by rubbing the pencil lead over the paper which I hoped was over the SN. I got some of the SN which began with a '25'. I figured it was a model U, later E, or perhaps the very elusive A, but I didn't think it was an A because the diamond was not on the side of the radiator. Anyway I drove my truck back home and tried to sleep, but I couldn't because I kept thinking that there was some significance to the partial serial number I got. I grabbed Swinford's book and looked first at the SNs for the A. There they all were.....all staring with '25'. Now, many of you know how rare an Allis Chalmers Model A is. It's one of those tractors that you only expect to see in a museum or at a high-profile tractor show. So at 2;30 in the morning a got my jacket, a flashlight, and my keys. I went back to see the tractor and proceded towards the back to get the SN. Just as I was setting foot onto the operator's platform a Broadway Police car pulled up with lights flashing. Apparently someone saw me on the tractor earlier in the night and alerted the police that someone might be trying to steal it. The policeman was very nice once I told him what I was doing and besides he knew my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc..... Anyway he left and I checked the SN......it did begin with a '25' but it wasn't a Model A. It is in fact a 1934 Model E with a 25-40 horsepower rating. I took some pictures before I went home and figured that I still would see if the tractor is for sale and make an offer. I haven't had a chance to check on that yet since I've been neck deep in final exams recently. I hope everyone enjoyed this little tractor hunter story and I'm thinking about putting together a book about the experiences of tractor collectors running around the country, braving the elements, throwing caution to the wind, and going to the ends of the earth to find those elusive pieces of agricultural history....... Submitted by Adam Wampler, from VA |
