Groundhog Day TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff

[953 nut 55,176]

Lesser-known tractor brands, good tractors with a short lifespan.

 

Innovative engineering and a strong intrapleural drive resulted in some great tractors and agricultural equipment, Strong market competition, economic conditions and corporate buy-outs left some brands as a footnote in history. Here are a few you may have heard about but have faded away. Somehow this seemed like an appropriate day to post this.

Ground Hog Tractors of Tacoma, Washington

For a brief period of time, during the halcyon days immediately after WWII, numerous small companies focused on the design and construction of small tractors suitable for a five-acre farm.  One of these manufacturers, Olympic Machine and Welding Works, began assembly of the ‘Ground Hog’ in September 1945, to capture their share of the Puyallup River Valley farm market.

Located at 1856 E. 28th Street in Tacoma, Olympic Machine and Welding Works was led by owner R.W. Thomas, key staff members John Proehnke, blacksmith; and Kenneth Graham, welder, and up to eight sales people traveling the Northwest circuit, Utah, California, and British Columbia.  This small shop had turned out 634 tractors between Sept. 1945 and October 1947.

There were two models of the Ground Hog:  the smaller one was powered by a 6 HP Wisconsin air-cooled engine while the larger one was driven by a 10 HP Onan motor.  A news article noted that a diesel version could be special ordered, as a full day’s work would cost about 10 cents in diesel fuel.

Tractor features included: high clearance, chain drive in an oil bath, low driving wheels, and extreme maneuverability.

Proehnke, a German-born blacksmith, was responsible for the creation of all the smaller fittings.

Source:  Tacoma Sunday Ledger-News Tribune, October 19, 1947

 

[ri702bill 8,314]

...and I was expecting to see some type of story that kept repeating itself!

5 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

chain drive in an oil bath - not the easiest thing to do, but the most effective way to assure it has a long life.