# Need Information



## Dareng (Jul 14, 2011)

Hello to you all!

I'm hoping someone is able to help me. We recently acquired a classic MF hay wagon. The bed needs to be redone, but looking forward to the project.

I'm wondering if anyone is able to provide me with any information on the wagon (such as production year, original dimensions, etc), and any other background information that may be possible. If anyone has a site (I've been looking to no avail), it would be most appreciated.

It is a model 5, with a serial of 2661. Picture below is of the attached plate to show the info.

Many thanks for your help!  And apologies, I can't get it to rotate.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

"The company was originally known as the TUDHOPE ANDERSON COMPANY and was started around 1905. They originally made steel wagon wheels for farming machines and they went bankrupt around the early to mid 20′s then the Royal Bank of Canada hired a man named Ross Phelps to manage the company.

In 1936 Mr. Phelps purchased the company from the bank and renamed it OTACO LIMITED.

In 1937 Mr. Phelps expanded the line to include other farm implements including the famous Autotrac conversion kit (allowing you to turn a car into a tractor).









In 1943 the company produced rear wheel assemblies for the Dehavilland Mosquito Airplanes but after the War ended they kept on with farm machinery and lawn mowers however big players like JOHN DEERE were flooding the markets with more modern machines and parts and the company started to fail once again.

In the late 1940′s (the baby boom after the war) Phelps saw a need for more toys and since he had all the equipment needed to produce all the parts he saved the company once again by switching to toy production.

Unfortunately the birth of plastic toys saw the end of production in the early 1960’s and the company finally closed it’s doors for good.

At its peak in toy production almost 1600 people worked for OTACO!"

Here's a brochure that I found, shows their product line.

























Here's my wagon, I picked this up a month or so ago. I may start fixing it up come spring.
As for information on your wagon, sorry I can't be of much help. Have fun with the restoration and hope you get the information you are looking for.
Cheers


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