Bill Miller of Carlinville, Ill., went to this year’s 2010 Two-Cylinder Show, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the two-cylinder era and the introduction of the New Generation tractor. The show was also held at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, which was celebrating its centennial anniversary.

As for Bill and his display, this John Deere collector got started collecting three years ago and during this short amount of time he has added some great selections to his stable. “I am going for the odd things,” he shared.

Bill is doing a good job selecting the unusual! At the show he had his beautiful 1956 John Deere 60 orchard. With only a little more than 250 John Deere 60 orchards made, this was an unusual tractor that caught a lot of attention at the show.

We first spied this beautiful tractor at the Strawberry Festival in Carlinville, Bill’s hometown. While we caught up with the tractor then, we were unable to catch up with the owner – so it was a treat to put the two together at Waterloo.

Orchards are interesting variations on standard tractors. Bill’s JD 60 orchard originally came out of Florida, and one of the most distinctive items about this tractor are the beautiful fenders that look like armor on an agricultural tank.

The fenders are not only beautiful, but functional. They were used to protect low-hanging tree limbs and fruit from being broken or rubbed-off while the tractor worked in the orchard. The JD 60 has been in Bill’s hands for only two years.

Looking at the tractor now, it is hard to believe it hasn’t always been the beauty it is today. “It had the nickname ‘the bucket of rust,’” Bill said. “The driver (who brought the tractor to Bill) said, ‘I hope you know what you are getting into.’”

At the Two-Cylinder Show, the gentleman who restored Bill’s tractor stopped by while we were admiring the orchard. “John Steward Restoration out of Raymond, Illinois, did the work. It took two years to restore,” Bill said.

Besides the beautiful orchard, Bill also had a rare John Deere Killifer disk and a John Deere 40 V on display. This high-clearance tractor is special because the Model 40 V was built by Deere to fill a niche market. It was used mostly in the vegetable fields and was sold primarily in Southern states.

“This was called the 40 special because there was also a 40 standard. This one spent most of its life on a one-row cultivator cultivating Bush vegetable crops in Louisiana,” he said. “Florida and California is where most were shipped to. They made 329 in 1955; that was the only year they made them.”

Steward also restored the 40 Special. The display was filled with great signs that were made by Bill’s friend John Craig.

Bill made a big impact at the Two-Cylinder show with all his JD tractors. He also had a 60 Standard hi-crop outside: “John Deere only made 676 of these. It was originally shipped to Canada, then it made it back to Illinois; here, I bought it.”

Bill likes both old and the new tractors. He farms corn and soybeans and, lucky for us, collects unusual tractors!

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.