I learned to operate old tractors by rinding on the drawbar or holding on to the fender when I was a kid with my dad too.
But it was alway when we were moving a wagon, or taking the tractor from here to there. I wasn’t allowed on the tractor when the PTO was engaged or a plow was in the ground. If you slipped it was going to be bad. These were all open station tractors, we never had anything with a cab on it!
I think @RoamingGnome is absolutely right. The way my dad taught me was still dangerous and as you said Harry, I think a lot of us that did that “back in the day” probably did get lucky a time or two!
I’m try to teach my son how to use this old stuff too. Every time he gets on a tractor with me we go over safety. Where to stand, where to hold on, what to watch for, etc. That’s one reason I love our Case GTs. They’re the perfect size for him to learn on. The bigger tractors are still intimidating to him.
Here is a quick story from my past.
If you read a manual for a tractor or PTO driven equipment it will have words to the effect; “always stay clear of the PTO when engaged”, and “ never where loose clothing near PTO”.
When I was a teenager 4 of us were helping a neighbor put up his corn crop. The tractor was running unattended with the PTO engaged turning an auger that transferred the corn from the wagon to the grain bin. This was standard practice at the time. One of my friends was wearing a flannel shirt untucked like a jacket. He got to close to the PTO and his shirt tail whipped up and the that PTO started pulling him in. Thankfully we were all young and strong. The 3 of us grabbed him by the arms and around the waist. That PTO literally ripped the shirt from his back and it wrapped around it. He ended up about 6 inches away from being killed. That PTO dragged all 4 of us toward it and the tractor never even grunted. It ran like it didn’t even have a load on it.
As you can imagine it was quite a sobering moment. Thank god no one was hurt. It is a lesson I will never forget.
That tractor should not have been unattended, the PTO should have been protected better, he should not have been that close to the PTO, he should have tucked his dang shirt in.
The old stuff can be operated and enjoyed without any trouble, we just have to keep safety on our mind.
Well that’s a heck of a ramble for a Thursday morning! Hope you don’t mind me being long winded!