Making diesels user friendly was an uphill struggle in the late 1920s and early ‘30s. The advantages of the compression-ignition engine were generally known but the PITA involved in using one…
In 1970, the United States Air Force announced it’s first operationally ready Bare Base squadron, the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron. Part of the 4th Fighter Wing, which dated back to the…
Cletrac created a new market segment in 1916 when it introduced the diminutive model R crawler. When Rollin H. White founded Cleveland Motor Plow Company in…
Nothing is more pleasing than finding an old tractor that can still run, and looks great while doing so. Most vintage tractors are eventually tossed aside and left to rust alone in unkempt…
The ’55 Diesel debuted in 1949 as the big diesel tractor in the Massey-Harris lineup. Despite some teething problems, it established a reputation as a gutsy tractor, and by the mid…
When John Deere introduced four new tractors at its big New Generation of Power extravaganza in Dallas, August 30, 1960, it was became clear the company had a couple of big hits on its hands…
The British County tractor isn’t one you see often here in the States, but you may wonder why not after seeing one. The story begins after World War I at Fleet, Hampshire, England. Ernest and…
Out with the old and in with the new. You’ve heard that expression a million times. In the late 1950s, International Harvester was bringing in the new at a very rapid pace. The new…
Cletrac began in 1916 as the Cleveland Motor Plow Company with a three-wheeled tractor design. Before the patent was even issued for it, the company switched to tracklayers after seeing the…
Witte, pronounced “Witty,” is a storied name, in both the diesel and gas engine realms. The origins of the Missouri based company start in 1870, when August Witte emigrated from Germany and…
By the middle part of the 1950s, Cockshutt Farm Equipment, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada, was feeling the pain of being a small-but-prestigious family owned company. It was all they could do…
