Gympie Show tractor pull is pulling the crowds
WHEN the tractor pull started up at the Gympie Show today, it could be heard clear across the main ring.
"When people hear them start up, they come from every direction,” Bidderston Tractor Pull Club secretary and tractor pull announcer Barry Byrne said.
"We love coming to the Gympie Show.
"We get the best crowd here from anywhere.”
The tractor pull is on three times tomorrow and is certainly a great spectacle.
Participants attempt to drag a special sledge up the increasingly slippery and muddy track as far as they can.
The sledge has a slowly moving counterbalance which, as it moves up the rail, pushes a platform more forcefully against the ground.
The more downward pressure on the platform, the greater the resistance to the drag, thereby simulating dragging additional weight.
Barry said some of the vintage and modified tractors could pull between 28 and 30 tonne (27.5 - 29.5 tons).
But he was keen to point out it's not really a competition.
"It's more of an exhibition,” he said.
There were a number of participants in both the individual or single tractor pull and the tandem pull, where two tractors are hooked together to increase their effectiveness.
Participants have come from Kingaroy, Gympie and, of course, the Bidderston Tractor Pull Club just to take part and next weekend are off to Dalby.
You can check out the Tractor Pull in Machinery Alley Saturday at 10am, 1pm and 4pm.
