THE David Brown Tractor Club is preparing to celebrate 60 years of the 880 and 990 at the Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show on November 13 and 14 .

The club stand will showcase some of the earliest 990 and 880 models brought to the show by members . There will also be a focus on the revolutionary Hydrashift gearbox , 50 years after it was introduced , and information on founder David Brown .

David Brown made a significant contribution to farm machinery development , as Club secretary Roger Brereton explains .

His involvement began in 1936 when a subsidiary of David Brown and Sons ( Huddersfield ) Ltd struck a deal with Harry Ferguson to manufacture the Ferguson Brown tractor . The tractor was the world ’ s first production tractor to be equipped with a hydraulic lift and converging three-point linkage .

Around 1,350 Type As were built before Ferguson left to work with Henry Ford , prompting David Brown to create his own prototype tractor . The tractor - the Vehicle Agricultural Kerosene 1 or VAK1 - was demonstrated at the Royal Show in 1939 , and established the brand .

Fast forward through a number of range changes and the marque ’ s most popular tractor , the 990 , was unveiled in 1961 . Known as the Implematic , it wore David Brown ’ s red and yellow livery .

“ The crossflow cylinder head , in conjunction with a two-stage front-mounted air cleaner , developed 52hp from the direct injection diesel engine ,” Mr Brereton says . The tractor earned a reputation for being able to handle the cultivation kit of the day with ease , and sales grew .

“ In the early 60 ’ s a six-speed Implematic would cost £ 784.14.0d and the 12-speed variant £ 815.14.0d ,” Mr Brereton says .

The Implematic range was followed up with the launch of the Selectamatic 990 in 1965 . The livery was changed from red and yellow to the iconic orchid

white bodywork and poppy red wheels and mechanics . The term Selectamatic referred to the hydraulic system and the tractor boasted a multi-speed PTO as standard , differential lock and an engine uprated to 55hp .

The main production run lasted until 1971 , with smaller runs being produced right up to 1980 . More than 67,000 990s were built at the company ’ s Meltham works , making it numerically the most popular David Brown tractor ever built .

The 990 ’ s sibling , the 880 , also celebrates its 60th anniversary this year . It was offered alongside the 990 from 1961 as a four-cylinder Implematic developing 42.5hp from its diesel engine . In 1964 the first model was superseded by the new three-cylinder engine which produced higher torque and better pulling power . A year later the 880 was upgraded again , adopting the same Selectamatic hydraulic system as the 990 and the new colour scheme . Production ran until 1971 with a total of nearly 40,000 machines having left the factory for use across the world .

The third key anniversary that will be celebrated at the show is the 50th year since the Hydrashift gear system was introduced in the 1212 tractor . This revolutionary gearbox , introduced in 1971 , was one of the first semi-automatic powershift transmissions fitted to a tractor in the UK .

Through low , middle and high ranges and selectable without a clutch through 1,2,3 and 4 gears made tractors infinitely more controllable in the field . “ Such was the groundbreaking innovation , descendants of the Hydrashift still keep modern-day tractors working hard on the land ,” Mr Brereton says .

This importance to agriculture meant David Brown Tractors Ltd was awarded the Queen ’ s Award to Industry and the Design Council Award . Visitors to the Newark Tractor Show will be able to see a wide range of David Brown tractors , alongside other key historic brands and equipment .

To book tickets visit www . newarkvintagetractorshow . com .