Horse Drawn Ploughs

The variety in the design of the older ploughs is a revelation - they are a fascinating subject to model, and have the advantage that all the work can be done by hand, since you have no large wheels to make as on the waggons. Because there is so little written information available on ploughs I have included extensive notes on these plans.

Mole Plough

Ransomes "YL" Iron Plough

Turnwrest Plough

Yorkshire Wheel Plough

Sussex Swing Plough

Mole Plough Click here for list

In suitable soils an effective drainage channel similar to a mole run could be formed by this implement, which was popular in the 19th Century. Often a winch was used to haul the plough, powered by horses or a gang of labourers, and a diagram of the complete outfit from an old agricultural book is included on the plan. The plough drawn is on display in the Welsh Folk Museum at St. Fagans.
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Ransomes "YL" Iron Plough Click here for list

This famous Ipswich firm led the world in the design of iron ploughs from the early 1800s and the concept of fully interchangeable parts of many different patterns was way ahead of its time. The "YL" type was in production for over a century. It is a single furrow wheel plough of conventional design, and is on display at the Old Kiln Museum, Tilford.
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Turnwrest Plough Click here for list

This plough has a wooden mouldboard, which can be fitted on either side to throw the furrow to the left or right. This example is from Sussex, and is on display at the Museum of English Rural Life. It was last used in 1900 and would have been drawn by a team of four bullocks. The 1/8th scale sheet is in colour.
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Yorkshire Wheel Plough Click here for list

A heavy wheeled plough, with wooden beam and cast iron body - (made by Edlington of Gainsboro). The plough is now in the collection at the Beck Isle Museum, Pickering.
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Sussex Swing Plough Click here for list

An early 19th Century plough, with a wooden beam and iron mouldboard, which is now at the Museum of English Rural Life at Reading. The plan includes two photographs of the plough, and the 1/8th scale sheet is printed in colour, so that it makes an attractive wall poster.
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