Convention defied
It is easy to believe that conventional ploughs paved the way for the reversible counterparts, but a look back through the history books will reveal that it isn’t necessarily that straightforward.
Well-known implement maker Ransomes Sims & Jefferies Ltd. (RSJ), for example, was making single-furrow, balance-type ploughs for horses and cable-drawn balance ploughs for steam engines in the 1800s – well before tractors were even thought of.
With the introduction of internal combustion power to mainstream farming, it’s fair to say that conventional ploughs still ruled the roost in the early days, but reversible ploughs never went away – adaptations of horse-drawn reversibles were suited to drawbar coupling and the time saved in marking out lands, finishing off and eliminating ridges and open furrows was an obvious benefit.
The other advantages of reversible ploughs became ever more apparent with the introduction of the threepoint linkage. With the tractor doing the bulk of the work, less muscle was required to turn the plough and less time was taken doing it.
Obvious early examples of mounted reversible are the Ferguson ‘butterfly’ single-furrow model and David Brown’s slightly more elaborate design. The DB model
