The Massey-Harris Pony was one of the tractors in the Canadian company’s early line-up. It is named on English Wikipedia together with the GP 15/22, the Pacemaker, the Model 101, the Model 20, the Model 81 and the Model 744 — the models that stood between the first own-design Massey-Harris tractor of 1930 and the post-war series.
Massey-Harris Pony at a glance
| Maker | Massey-Harris Limited, Toronto, Canada |
|---|---|
| Type | farm tractor |
| Place in the range | early tractor line-up, before the post-war series |
| Listed with | GP 15/22, Pacemaker, Model 101, Model 20, Model 81, Model 744 |
| Company formed | 1891, merger of the Massey Manufacturing Co. and A. Harris, Son and Company |
| First own-design tractor | the GP of 1930, four-wheel drive with a Hercules engine |
| Early range in horsepower | from 20 hp (GP 15/22) to 35 hp (Model 101) |
| Combine of the same years | No. 20 of 1938 |
| Post-war generation | M-H 22, 33, 44 and 55 |
| Engine and production years | not recorded in the sources used here |
There is no Wikipedia page for the Pony itself. The model is named in the Massey-Harris company history on English Wikipedia, which is also the source of the background given here.
History of the Massey-Harris Pony
From implements to tractors
Massey-Harris Limited was created in 1891, when the Massey Manufacturing Co. of Hart Massey merged with A. Harris, Son and Company, and the new firm became the largest agricultural equipment maker in the British Empire. For decades its business was threshing machines, reapers and other harvest equipment. Tractors came later and by a roundabout route: machines bought from the Parrett Tractor Company of Chicago Heights from 1917 were built in Massey-Harris’ own Weston, Ontario factory from 1919, but that production was given up in 1923 because the models were no longer competitive. From 1927 the company sold tractors made by the J. I. Case Plow Works under the Wallis name, and in 1928 it bought that business outright.
The GP and the early range
The first tractor designed by Massey-Harris itself was the GP, short for general purpose, presented in 1930. It was a four-wheel-drive machine with four wheels of equal size and a Hercules engine. The early models that followed are listed by English Wikipedia as the 20 hp GP 15/22 of 1930–36, the 25 hp Pacemaker of 1936–39, the 35 hp Model 101 of 1938–42, the Pony, the Model 20, the Model 81 and the Model 744. The Pony therefore belongs to the generation of Massey-Harris tractors built before the Second World War, in the years when the company was also working on its first self-propelled combine, the No. 20 of 1938.
What came after
The final generation of Massey-Harris tractors was introduced immediately after the Second World War and consisted of the 25 hp M-H 22, the 35 hp M-H 33, the 45 hp M-H 44 and the 55 hp M-H 55. The 22 was replaced in 1952 by the 23 Mustang. In 1955 the 30 hp M-H 50 arrived, based on the Ferguson TO-35 and also built as the F-40 for Ferguson dealers, and in 1956 the 33, 44 and 55 gave way to the 333, 444 and 555, the so-called triple series, which stayed in production until 1958. By then Massey-Harris had merged with Harry Ferguson Limited, in 1953, to form the company known as Massey Ferguson.
Design and features
- Early generation: the Pony is listed with the tractors built before the post-war series of 22, 33, 44 and 55.
- Company lineage: it came after the first own-design Massey-Harris tractor, the four-wheel-drive GP of 1930.
- Part of a broad range: the early line-up ran from the 20 hp GP 15/22 to the 35 hp Model 101 and included the Model 20, Model 81 and Model 744 alongside the Pony.
- Years of change: Massey-Harris was the largest farm equipment maker in the British Empire, and in 1938 it produced the world’s first affordable, mass-produced self-propelled combine.
- Before the merger: the Pony generation predates the 1953 merger with Harry Ferguson that created Massey Ferguson.
Massey-Harris Pony versions
- Massey-Harris Pony: the model named among the early tractors.
- GP 15/22 (1930–36): 20 hp, four-wheel drive, the first Massey-Harris design of its own.
- Pacemaker (1936–39): 25 hp.
- Model 101 (1938–42): 35 hp.
- Model 20, Model 81 and Model 744: the other early models listed together with the Pony.
Other tractors of the same period are the Massey-Harris No. 20 and the Model 744; the post-war range began with the M-H 22. The whole Massey-Harris collection is here.
Video: Ploegen Massey Harris Pony
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Massey Ferguson, English Wikipedia: company history, early model list, post-war series
- Massey-Harris, German Wikipedia: company history, the GP of 1930
