June 22, 2007

Featured at International Engineers Conference

UNL Museum Tractors Illustrate Trendsetters

Bill Splinter, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Larsen Tractor Museum, loads a McCormick-Deering Farmall tractor onto a semi-trailer for the trip to Minneapolis. (UNL IANR Photo)

Visit Tractor Museum On-line or in Person The Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum on UNL's East Campus displays over 40 historic tractors that trace developments in power, safety, and innovation. Descriptions for each tractor aid the visitor on self-guided tours. For more information and hours, vist its Web site at http://tractormuseum.unl.edu/.

The tractors are part of an exhibit: Tractor Trendsetters of the Last 100 Years. The exhibit features tractors that represent significant firsts in design advancements that took agricultural machinery to the level where it is today. Nebraska's Werner Enterprises hauled the tractors from the museum to the meeting in Minneapolis. Transportation costs are being paid by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

The tractors, manufacturer, year and significance include:

• Waterloo Boy "N" 12-25, Waterloo Gasoline and Engine Company, 1917. The Waterloo Boy was the first tractor tested under the Nebraska Tractor Test Bill. Testing began on March 31, 1920, ending on April 9, 1920, with the tractor successfully completing all trials. The Waterloo Gasoline and Engine Company was purchased by John Deere Tractor Company in 1918.
• McCormick-Deering Farmall, International Harvester Company, 1930. This was the first true row-crop tractor that had high clearance so farmers could cultivate tall row crops such as corn. The addition of a PTO meant the Farmall could not only tow and do belt work, but also could power harvesters. This made the Farmall the first successful all-purpose farm tractor because it could replace all of the horses on a farm.
• Oliver Hart-Parr Row Crop, Oliver Farm Equipment, 1936. The Oliver Hart-Parr Farm Equipment Company was the first manufacturer to use the word "tractor" in advertisements. The tractor also had many special features. High clearance allowed farmers to cultivate corn late in the season. Skeleton wheels enabled this model to work in fields that had soft soils. The wheels also had adjustable spacing so farmers could customize the tractor to their row spacing or row width.
• Allis-Chalmers "U", Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, 1932. This was the first tractor with rubber tires. Testing found rubber tires were 25 percent more efficient than steel wheels and also added comfort when riding.
• "Ford" tractor that was not built by the Ford Motor Company. This tractor, built by a Minnesota company, was the primary reason for state representative Wilmot F. Cozier of Polk County to draft the original Nebraska Tractor Test Bill. Written in cooperation with state senator Charles Warner of Lancaster County, the bill required that tractors must perform as advertised. The bill gave the Agricultural Engineering Department, now the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, the responsibility for conducting tractor tests.

Sandi Alswager Karstens
IANR News Service

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© 2007 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. All rights reserved.

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