I
think Raleigh Barnett is an amazing man for owning 60 Ford model 8N
tractors. I dont know of another person that has a larger collection
of one model of tractor. All of his refurbished tractors are in excellent
condition. All are ready for work. Raleigh stores his tractors in two
sheds located on his property in Waterfall, Pennsylvania. The oldest
tractor in his collection was manufactured in 1947 and the newest in
1952. He says he uses five of his 8Ns for various duties on his
farm.
Raleigh began his collection when he purchased a brand new 8N in 1952.
Its his personal favorite because hes had it the longest.
It was twenty years later when he acquired his 2nd 8N. Since
then, he hasnt been able to stop collecting them. He collected
his 53rd 8N in September of '98 at a nearby sale. In the
last couple of years, Raleigh has managed to acquire 3 more 8N's. One
of them was a Christmas present from his wife. Raleigh just loves his
8N Fords.
Recently Raleigh told me hes running out of storage space in
his sheds and needs to stop collecting. He said he would quit
collecting them when he reaches the magic number of 60. I personally
have my doubts. Raleigh said its getting harder to find parts
for his 8Ns. I told him theres a parts shortage because
he has all the parts. He chuckled. Another possible collecting problem
is his son Richard, who helps him restore these tractors, is getting
tired of it. Come on Rich, how about a couple more restorations?
Once a year during the annual Fulton Fall Festival, which is in the
third week in October, he and his family starts, washes, and lines them
in rows in a field next to his house. I was astonished to see the amount
of people who stopped to see his collection. I visited for an hour and
I bet there were 30 vehicles that stopped.
Each 8N has its different features and characteristics. Most of them
are painted the original color. One 8N is resting alone in front of
his house with its sheet metal and wheels painted dark gray, the same
color use for the earlier 9N model. Raleigh purchased it from a farmer
who spent $500 for a paint job and used a non-original gray color for
8Ns.
Raleigh owns 56 of the 524,076 model 8N tractors that The Ford Motor
Co. manufactured from 1947 to 1952. The model 8N was one part of the
"N" series tractor Henry Ford built. The others were the models
9N and 2N. The model 9N was manufactured from 1939 to 1942 and the model
2N from 1942 to 1947.In conclusion, the next time you have a hankering
to see a massive amount of Ford 8N tractors, visit Raleigh Barnett.
Youll feel like youre in heaven at the first sight of his
terrific collection.
Here are some pics of Raleigh Barnett's 8Ns with
n-teresting features.
(Click the thumbnail for a larger
view)
![8N with hand brake](images/8Nhandbrake_small.jpg) |
![8N with Sherman auxillary transmission](images/auxtranny_small.jpg) |
![Hupp auxillary transmission](images/Huppauxtranny_small.jpg) |
8N w/hand
brake |
8N w/Sherman
Combination
Auxillary Tranny |
8N w/Hupp
Auxillary Tranny |
![8N with a rear accessory](images/rearaccessory_small.jpg) |
![8N with a toolbox mounted on fender](images/rearfendertoolbox_small.jpg) |
![8N with shocks mounted on lift arms](images/rearshocks_small.jpg) |
8N
w/rear accessory |
8N w/Sherman
Combination
Auxillary Tranny |
8N w/Hupp
Auxillary Tranny |
Here are more pics of Raleigh's 8N collection.
(Click the thumbnail for a larger view)
![8N with a 9N motor](images/8Nw9Nengine_small.jpg) |
![8N with 9N front hubs](images/8Nw9Nfronthubs_small.jpg) |
![8N with a Dearborn mower](images/8NwDearbornMower_small.jpg) |
![8N with high mounted headlights](images/8Nwhighmountheadlights_small.jpg) |
![8N painted dark gray](images/darkgray8n_small.jpg) |
8N w/9N Engine |
8N w/9N Front
Hubs |
8N w/Dearborn Mower |
8N w/High Mounted Headlights |
8N Painted Dark Gray |
|