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Minneapolis-Moline
In 1929 three companies incorporated to constitute
Minneapolis-Moline. Included were the Moline Plow Company,
Moline, Illinois; Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company,
Hopkins, Minnesota; and Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company,
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moline Plow Company dated back to 1870,
and over its history formulated an extended line of tillage
tools. Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company started out
operations in 1887 as a producer of steam engines and threshers.
Afterwards, the company produced a solid tractor line.
Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company was organized in 1902, and
subsequently developed the Twin City tractor line.
Minneapolis-Moline was absorbed by White Farm Equipment Company
in 1963.
Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. (1887-1929)
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The Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company (MTM Co.) was
founded in Hopkins, Minnesota. Initially, the new
company only manufactured threshing machines, but later
it expanded into the manufacture of steam traction
engines. After only a few years on the market,
"Minneapolis" steam engines and threshing machines had
established a highly regarded name for themselves among
farmers in the grain-growing regions of the United
States and Canada. By 1911, however, steam traction
engines had begun to lose favor among farmers, and so
the MTM Co. decided to enter the vastly expanding
tractor business. In the late teens, MTM Co. followed
the industry trend by expanding into the small tractor
market with their newly designed "15-30" tractor.
Refined, and identically styled larger horsepower
tractors were later added to fill out the tractor line,
replacing the older models. These newly designed
tractors all featured the large bore, long stroke engine
design that was to become a trademark of all
Minneapolis-Moline tractors built after the merger in
1929. |
Above
The 40/80 was the first MTM tractor. First built in
1912, it was a behemoth weighing more than 11 tons. It
maintained numerous chassis characteristics of the
Minneapolis steam engines, including chain steering and
a engine cooling capacity of more than fifty gallons of
water. In 1920, the 40/80 was presented to the Nebraska
tests; as a result, it was rerated and re-named the
35/70. It remained in production until the merger of
1929.
click on image to enlarge
Right
About 1925, Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. released the 17-30 Type B 4
plow farm tractor. It was quite similar to the 17-30 3
plow Type A, but had a longer chassis and a slightly
larger engine of 4-7/8 x 7-inch bore and stroke. The
Type B delivered almost 35 belt hp. Production of the
17-30 Type B ended in 1934.
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Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company (1902-1929)
The Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company (MS&M Co.)
was launched April 24, 1902, to manufacture steel
components for buildings, bridges, and other steel
structures. The MS&M Co. engaged in the singular steel
fabrication business until 1910, when the Joy-Wilson
Company of Minneapolis was hired to design a tractor for
them. The tractor that was designed subsequently evolved
into the famous Twin City "40" tractor, and began the
company's successful venture into the tractor business. |
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A few
years later, the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Co
added to its role in the tractor business by
subcontracting to build heavy tractors for other makers
like Case Threshing Machine Company, and Bull Tractor
Company. By the late teens, MS&M Co. engineers realized
the movement in tractor design was going away from the
massive heavyweights that were their specialty, to
smaller, cheaper, and more compact tractor designs. As a
result, an altogether new line of lightweight tractors
was engineered, added on to a new line of threshing
machines and farm trucks.
Left
In 1913 Minneapolis Steel & Machinery released the giant
60-90 Twin City tractor. One of the biggest tractors
ever built. It was powered by a six-cylinder engine of
2,229 ci (36,511 cc) . The tractor weighed a whopping
28,000 pounds. The cooling system contained 116 gallons
water
click on image to enlarge
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The brand-new line of lightweight "Twin City" farm
tractors were well engineered, and as a testament to
their quality they later served as the basis for the
entire Minneapolis- Moline tractor line. Overall, sales
of "Twin City" products increased throughout the
twenties with growing consumer acceptance, but in the
depressed agricultural economy of that period it was
very difficult for a short line company like MS&M Co. to
survive on its own. |
Consequently, merger negotiations began with another
short line company, the Moline Implement Company of
Moline, Illinois, and later included the Minneapolis
Threshing Machine Company of Hopkins, Minnesota. An
agreement was eventually reached, and on March 30, 1929,
the three short line companies were amalgamated to form
the Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company.
Right
The Twin City 11-20 hp. KT (Kombination Tractor) was
announced in June 1930 by the Minneapolis-Moline Power
Implement Co. of Minneapolis, Minn. "Kombination" was
inspired by the fact that the tractor was equipped to
handle any combination of power jobs, such as plowing,
cultivating, belt work, and hauling. A power take-off
available as extra equipment further added to its
versatility. After the merger of 1929,
Minneapolis-Moline continued to produce Twin City
tractors, but soon they also bore Minneapolis-Moline
trademark.
click
on image to enlarge
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The most notable of the Minneapolis-Moline U Series was
the UDLX, a.k.a. the U-Deluxe and Comfortractor.
Configured to be a tractor that farmers could drive to
town after it had spent the day working in the field,
its top speed was an astonishing 40 mph. The UDLX
sported items like a shift-on-the-fly five-speed
transmission, windshield wipers, high- and low-beam
headlights, taillights, cigarette lighter, heater,
speedometer, and seating for three. Under the skin the
tractor was basically a Model UTS. While the enclosed
cab was comfortable, the lack of hydraulics meant the
back door had to be kept open in order to reach
implement levers. The tractor was not practical for
other than pulling jobs, as there was no belt pulley or
PTO. Tractor sales for the UDLX only reach about 150
tractors. Today they are one of the most collectible
vintage tractors of all time.
Left
The dust bowl forced hundreds of thousands of people to
leave their farms. Farm equipment was sold for pennies
on the dollar or abandoned all together like this
tractor buried in a sand drift. |
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Minneapolis-Moline Models J, Z, R Series
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Minneapolis-Moline Models
and Model Variations |
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Model
Year |
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J Series |
1934-1938 |
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Z Series |
1937-1956 |
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R Series |
1939-1954 |
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In July of 1937 the Minneapolis-Moline Co announced it’s Universal "Z" Model tricycle-type tractor. A special feature was the detachable part of the head,
which could be adjusted to alter the compression pressure. This was on the opposite side to the valves and contained the spark plugs and water jackets.
By changing the size of the protrusions on the detachable head the volume of the combustion chamber and hence the compression pressure could be altered
for the use of high-octane fuels, or for the burning of distillate fuel. The valves were horizontal and operated by rocker arms.
Right
The Model Z debuted in 1937 as the first of the "Visionlined," styled M-Ms, sporting the new Prairie Gold-and-red colors. A feature of the Z
Series was that the cylinder head could be removed, and spacers could be added or removed to adjust the compression ratio. Therefore, if a
farmer desired the extra power of gasoline fuel, the higher compression would make better use of it.
click on image to enlarge
Below
The Minneapolis-Moline Model Z featured a unique motor that sported an F head.
click on image to enlarge
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Minneapolis-Moline Models UT, U, UB
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Minneapolis-Moline Models
and Model Variations |
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Model
Year |
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UT Series |
1938-1949 |
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U Series |
1949-1957 |
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UB Series |
1954-1957 |
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Minneapolis-Moline Models J, Z, R Series
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Minneapolis-Moline Models
and Model Variations |
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Model
Year |
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J Series |
1934-1938 |
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Z Series |
1937-1956 |
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R Series |
1939-1954 |
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Minneapolis-Moline Models
and Model Variations |
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Model
Year |
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J Series |
1934-1938 |
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Z Series |
1937-1956 |
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R Series |
1939-1954 |
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Antique Farming Top Visited Pages |
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Ford 8N Tractor
Ford 2N production stopped in July 1947 and 8N tractor
production took over.
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Fords First
Tractor
The Fordson was
the first
mass-produced
tractor and
revolutionized
the industry
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Ford Tractor
Conversions
Over one hundred
companies
offered kits to
convert Ford' s
popular car into
a Ford Tractor.
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Massey Harris
Tractors
Take a look at the roots of the Massey Ferguson Tractor
Company visit our Massey Harris Tractor page
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John Deere
Tractor Model M
John Deere's
Utility Tractor
designed to
replace the John
Deere Model H,
John Deere Model
L and Model LA
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Dairy Barn
The history of
the dairy Barn
and the work
saving barn
tools
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Minneapolis Moline Z |
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Minneapolis-Moline tractors were sold under the MM Twin City trade name into the early 1940s. The Minneapolis Moline ZTU Row-Crop model was
introduced in 1936 and was produced until 1948. In 1949, Minneapolis Moline revamped the Z-Series tractors with the ZA series. |
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Tractor Sales Leader |
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International won the tractor wars of the 1920's holding
the position as leader in tractor sales until 1939,
when the introduction of a new line of
Farmalls
was spoiled by a partnership between Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson that brought the
Ford Tractor
back to the United States. Ultimately the innovation that tractor introduced would produce the
Ford 8N
the all time leader in tractor sales.
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First Tractor Sales Leader |
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Hart-Parr became the tractor sales leader in this earliest period of the production farming tractor.
In 1907, Hart-Parr'
s tractor sales accounted for one-third of the 600 tractors manufactured in the United States.
By 1910, the company had tractor sales totaling of 2,000 tractors. |
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World Tractor Sales |
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1920 Austin Farm Tractor
The effects tractor sales of the Fordson were felt world wide. Herbert Austin could be viewed as Great Britain's Henry Ford,
and like Ford had the ambition to build cheap, mass-produced tractors. Austin launched his own machine in 1919 after importing
American tractors for a short time. Realizing he couldn'
t compete with tractor sales with the
aggressively priced Ford, Austin attempted to sell the production rights to GMC, without success. In the end, a partial solution
was found and he built the tractor in France, this being a protected market that reduced the Fordson's price advantage.
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JOHN DEERE D |
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John Deere's
first reaction to Fords dominance in tractor sales was the
John Deere D
Before Deere's acquisition of Waterloo Boy, their engineers had been working on a modern version.
to replace the outdated Waterloo Boy.
John Deere
engineers quickly picked up on it and developed it
into the first production two-cylinder tractor to be called a John Deere. It was introduced in 1923,
and to say that the
Model D
was a success would be an understatement. Its 30-year production run was
longer than any tractor model to date. With tractor sales reaching 160,000 units.
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FORDSON |
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Fordson
By 1928, Ford Motor Company discontinued building the Fordson in North America, The European market was not yet affected,
so Ford decided to transfer all Fordson production to Cork. Henry Ford said he needed the factory space for the new Model A car.
When production in Detroit ended the Fordson's tractor sales had reached 850,000 units.
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1930's Tractor Sales |
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Tractor Tires Pull Tractor Sales Out of Depression
The first tires for
farm tractors were sold in 1932. and started one of the most rapid and striking influence on tractor sales
Less than three years later, in 1935, nearly 20,000 tractors (14 per cent of the wheel tractor sales) were equipped with rubber tires at the factory. That figure kept jumping spectacularly. In 1936, it was 31 per cent; in 1937, it was 42 per cent; in 1938, it was 65 per cent; in 1939, it was 83 per cent. And in 1941 more than 90 per cent of all wheel tractors were sold on rubber.
This swing to rubber in the short space of five years is astonishing in it'
s self. But considering the
tractor tire
option cost nearly $200 and it occurred during the great depression and the worst drought in U.S. history makes the rapid change even more astonishing
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Ford Model T Tractor |
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Farm Tractor Conversions
Quite a number of Ford Model T to
Ford Tractor conversion
kits were sold. It was not uncommon to see a Ford car pulling a plow out in a field in the
"Model T" days with a contraption similar to the Pullford conversion kit that
replaced the back wheels.
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Implement History |
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In earlier days when horses provided almost all farm power, implements such as binders or mowers drew their
power from a bullwheel, a large wheel with cleats or lugs that was forced to turn as the implement ran over the ground.
When conditions were good, the implements wheels rolled and turned the rest of the machinery, but when the ground was
soft or muddy, the wheels often slid along under motionless shafts and cogwheels. Yet this crude system continued well
into the
farm tractor era.
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