TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 6/24/2024

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Was the tractor revolutionary or evolutionary?

The word “tractor” comes from the Latin word, trahere, meaning “to pull.” The first recorded use of the word “TRACTOR” was an 1890 patent request filed by George H. Edwards for what had previously known as a steam traction engine. So, we will give Mr. Edwards credit for building the first “tractor.”

Credit for having invented the gasoline engine powered tractor is generally given to John Froelich. He combined two proven technologies, the tractor and a gasoline engine in 1892, then added a forward/reverse transmission which was his true contribution to tractor development. Steam tractors did not need a reversable transmission as the steam engine will operate in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. The Froelich tractor was not successful commercially, of the four tractors built by the company only two were purchased, and these were later returned by unsatisfied customers.

Many prairie tractors with gasoline engines like the Wallis Bear were developed around the turn of the century. Weighing 16,000 to 20,000 pounds these huge tractors were ideal for opening up the large homesteaded tracts of the great plains.

The first commercially successful light-weight petrol-powered general-purpose tractor was built by Dan Albone, a British inventor in 1901. He filed for a patent in 1902 for his tractor design and then formed Ivel Agricultural Motors Limited.

Albone called his machine the Ivel Agricultural Motor, it was light, powerful and compact. It had one front wheel, with a solid rubber tire, and two large rear drive wheels and had one forward and one reverse gear. His tractor won a medal at the Royal Agricultural Show, in 1903 and 1904. About 500 were built, and many were exported all over the world.

In 1909 most farmers owned a full array of horse-drawn implements and the thought of replacing all of them to go horseless was quite expensive. Several early tractor manufacturers like Universal of Stillwater, MN, built tractors that adapted the farmer’s own tools to fit their new tractors.

One of the major contributions to the development of lightweight tractors was the Wallis tractor’s 1913 U frame design. The “U Frame” served as the engine’s oil pan and the tractor’s frame connecting the steering system at the front and the transmission at the rear. The elimination of a heavy frame reduced the weight of farm tractors by 2,000 pounds or more.

World War One brought about a shortage of horses because the war effort required thousands of horses to move supplies and munitions in Europe. During this time hundreds of small manufacturers produced machines to replace the horse. One of the major players in the lightweight tractor race was Henry Ford. The first experimental Ford Automobile Plow was built in 1907 and following further development the Fordson Tractor was introduced in 1916 for European export and in 1918 for domestic sales. During the 1920s 75 % of all tractors built in the United States were Fordsons.

While the Fordson was excellent for fitting the soil for planting and pulling harvesting equipment it wasn’t built for cultivating row crops like corn and soybeans. 1925 was a true milestone in the farm tractor world. International Harvester introduced the general-purpose tractor, the Farmall. With its high ground clearance, narrow front wheels, and reduced weight it was ideal for cultivating as well as ground preparation and harvesting. It became the dominant design for farm tractors and was soon used by Case, Deere, Massey on their GP tractors.

The power lift introduced by Deere in 1927 increased their popularity and the 1932 release of low pressure rubber tractor tires were both major game changers.

The first commercially successful power take-off (PTO) was offered on the International Harvester Corporation, IHC 8-16 in 1919. Rather than being power by a rolling wheel on the implement the PTO used the engine’s power encouraging the development of larger planting and harvesting devices.

Dent Parrett’s 1946 invention of the double acting high-capacity clutch allowed the tractor to be stopped while the PTO remained in operation, the “Live” PTO. The Oliver 88 tractor is credited as the first mass-produced U.S. tractor with a “live” PTO in 1947.

 

The desire for a smaller “Compact Tractor” to meet the needs of truck farms and small farming operations that used a horse or mule was first met in 1937 by John Deere with the introduction of their Model 62, later known as the “LA”. The International Harvester Farmall Cub, Massey Harris Pony and Allis Chalmers “G” soon joined the compact tractor field. These tractors were smaller and less expensive than the farm tractor, but had the same general-purpose capabilities. their introduction offered operators on small farms the chance to replace their one horse or mule with a tractor, and was responsible for the beginnings of the tractor’s popularity in the South and New England where many farms were forty or less acres. These small tractors were quite nimble, featured adjustable front wheels and high ground clearance for cultivation, which made them considerably more flexible than the larger models. Within a few more years manufacturers were offering their larger models in ‘high-crop’ versions as well.

A joint venture between Irishman Harry Ferguson and Henry Ford brought Ford back into the tractor business with the Ford-Ferguson three-point attachment lift. The Ford 9N was an instantaneous hit with farmers capturing about fifteen percent of the tractor market in just two years. Before long all other brands were also offering a three-point hitch.

Factory equipped power steering was another vast improvement as tractors became larger. The Sheppard SD-4 tractor was the first tractor with power steering coming out in 1953.