|
The Gas Farm
Tractor
|
The
gas tractor began making
inroads into the farming
industry at the turn of the
century
There was rather bitter
competition during this
period between the steam and
gas-tractor manufacturers.
|
The president of the Kinnard-Haines Co. stated that when he first went into the business,
the steam tractor manufacturers refused to load their machines on the same freight cars with
his gasoline tractors.
The fact still remained that the steam rig was so bulky and unmanageable
as to be impractical for the average farmer. But it was the forerunner of an attempt by farmers
to drive their machinery with something besides horseflesh and manpower.
Steam quickly found its niche as belt power for threshers, releasing horses from this job. And on a much lesser scale it was later
used to pump water, bale hay, shred and cut silage. But toward the turn of the century it was to run into the competition which doomed its widespread use on the farm.
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Gas Tractor Beginnings
The turn of the century saw many companies advance the gas engine tractor
C. W. Hart and C. H. Parr in Charles City, Iowa, built their first tractor model in 1902 right Hart Parr no 1
bottom Hart Parr no 1
|
 |
Also in 1902 the J.I. Case Plow Works. Of Racine, WI., built a tractor powered with a 4-cylinder engine capable of pulling ten 14-inch plows. This was known as the Wallis "Bear." In 1928 J.I. Case Plow Works was sold to Massey Harris. The J.I. Case Plow Works had no corporate connection with the J.I. Case Threshing Machine Company the manufacturer of the famous J.I. Case Tractors
|
 |
Nichols & Shepard well
known for it's high
quality Red River
Threshing Machinery and
steam engine tractors.
Their gas tractor shows the quality with it's use of a heavy duty steam engine
type frame.
The John Lauson Mfg. Co., of New Holstein, Wisconsin built its first tractor in 1913, a two cylinder with open
gearing and open steering. In 1916 they produced two models, the Lauson 15-25 and
the Lauson 20-35. By 1927 Nichols & Shepard Company had taken over Lauson and brought out the Lauson 16-32 and the
Lauson 20-40. In 1928 they brought out this six cylinder 25-45 H.P. Lauson. In 1932 the Lauson went down in history, as
did many other tractors during the depression years.
|
 |
|
|
Tractor and Farming
Landmarks in Gas Tractor History |
|
|
|
|
Nichols & Shepard Gas Oil Tractor
click on image to
enlarge |
Oil Pull tractor by
Advance-Rumely Thresher
Co
The Rumely Oil Pull tractor is being driven in a University of Nebraska test field.
click on image to enlarge
|
International Harvester
Company IHC Mogul 10-20
in
. 1917." Side
view of IHC Mogul
tractor being driven in
a field and pulling a
disc.
click on image to enlarge
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steam Engines |
|
|
|
Nichols & Shepard
Nichols & Shepard came out with its first tractors
in 1911, and kept building tractors into 1929 . That year saw the merger of Hart-Parr Co., Nichols &
Shepard Co., American Seeding Machine Co., and Oliver Chilled Plow Works into one company named Oliver . |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FARMALL
REGULAR - F20 |
|
|
International Harvester Company built 135,000 regular Farmall tractors between 1923 and 1932,
when the name was changed to "F-20." (The F- 12 was also introduced in 1932 by International Harvester and 132,000 F-12's were built between 1932 and 1938.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
