Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Antique Caterpillar Machinery Museum: Early Gas Caterpillars

IMG_8622 1929 Caterpillar Ten at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1929 Caterpillar Ten on August 1, 2009

This 1929 Caterpillar Ten is the smallest tractor Caterpillar ever built. In 1930, this particular tractor was demonstrated by the agricultural engineering department of Oregon State College (now Oregon State University) in a record-breaking non-stop test run to test its reliability, endurance and cost against that of a team of horses. Two men worked alternating 8 hour shifts to keep the tractor running through 20 days and nights of continuous farm work in in actual field conditions and all kinds of weather. After setting a new world record of 481 hours and five minutes, Oregon  Governor Q.W. Norblad turned the switch off at the signal from Senator Charles L. McNary, who phoned congratulations from Washington D.C. The tractor was then disassembled in the college shops to determine the wear on all moving parts, which was converted to a dollar cost and added to the costs of the fuel, lubrication and labor. The college calculated that not only did the tractor do the work of a team of horses, but it did the work at a lower cost. During the test, the tractor traveled 1,011 miles and used 724 gallons of gasoline, 64 quarts of crankcase oil, 16 gallons of gear oil and 17 quarts of radiator water, while experiencing 0.6 inches of track elongation and 0.001 inches of cylinder wear.

Below are some other Caterpillar tractors from that era.

IMG_8619 Caterpillar Ten at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
Caterpillar Ten on August 1, 2009

IMG_8624 Caterpillar Ten at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
Caterpillar Ten on August 1, 2009

IMG_8610 1926 Caterpillar Sixty at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1926 Caterpillar Sixty on August 1, 2009

IMG_8606 1928 Caterpillar Thirty at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1928 Caterpillar Thirty on August 1, 2009

IMG_8625 1931 Caterpillar Twenty Five at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1931 Caterpillar Twenty Five on August 1, 2009

IMG_8627 1932 Caterpillar Twenty at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1932 Caterpillar Twenty on August 1, 2009

IMG_8629 1935 Caterpillar Twenty Two at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1935 Caterpillar Twenty Two on August 1, 2009

IMG_8579 1935 Caterpillar Twenty Eight at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1935 Caterpillar Twenty Eight on August 1, 2009

IMG_8584 1936 Caterpillar Twenty Two at Antique Powerland in Brooks, Oregon on August 1, 2009
1936 Caterpillar Twenty Two on August 1, 2009

This 1936 Caterpillar Twenty Two tractor was purchased new for $1,600 by Robert Patterson and his grown, eldest son John for use at their farm in Lacomb, Oregon. It was in continuous farming use, plowing, disking, drawling combines and bailers, logging and other work, until John and his wife Evelyn retired from farming in 1985. After that, Evelyn continued using the tractor to disc the weeds in their back 40. The tractor's only major repair was an engine and track overhaul in the mid-1970s.

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