Harry Gibbons & Sons Agricultural Machinery Hire at Castor near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire was not a small-time operator by any standards. They had many threshing rounds and had at least 28 steam engines in the business over the years, while in the early days horse-drawn steam portables were certainly part of the set up. Thankfully the company has been well recorded, particularly during the 1930-50s when on a Sunday afternoon various photographers would call in, including the famous Ronald Clark. They were all made welcome and the family just loved their steam tackle. Later in the 1940s as steam was being phased out a few tractors arrived including the steam contractors’ favourite, 1947 Field Marshall Series One Contractor Mk2 registered EG9687, sadly the tractor has not lasted into preservation.
The business was established in the 1840s and Thomas Gibbons is listed in Kelly’s Directory as a machinist in 1847. Today the Old Gibbons Yard, as it is still known, is
