Around 1930, Caterpillar entered their gas-powered Sixty tractor in a competitive plowing demonstration at a cotton farm in Egypt. The competition was a diesel engine mounted on a sled at one end of the field that, through a block and tackle, pulled a plow across the field, and at the end of each run the sled was pulled further down the field. Although the Caterpillar tractor did the job faster, Caterpillar was surprised that the sled mounted diesel engine did the job at a lower cost. Caterpillar realized that despite the poor economic situation due to the depression, they needed a diesel engine for their tractor.
Caterpillar D9900 Stationary Diesel Engine on August 1, 2009
Caterpillar's first diesel engine was the D9900, illustrated here by a 1932 90-horsepower stationary version that was purchased by Multnomah County and used for 25 years to power a rock crusher near 96th & SE Powell in Portland, Oregon. It is the only such engine known to remain in the United States.
Caterpillar Diesel Sixty Five on August 1, 2009
The D9900 engine was used to power Caterpillar's first diesel tractor, the Diesel Sixty, which was introduced in November 1931. Caterpillar realized it could actually produce 65-horsepower, and renamed it the Diesel Sixty Five, an example of which is shown here. It replaced Caterpillar's largest tractor, the gas-powered Sixty. A total of 157 were built before the Diesel Sixty Five was replaced by the Diesel Seventy.
By July 1933, Caterpillar had a complete line of diesel tractors, along with the line of gasoline-powered tractors they had been making before. The diesel-powered line consisted of the 40-horsepower Diesel Thirty Five, the 56-horsepower Diesel Fifty and the 83-horsepower Diesel Seventy Five. Examples of all three are shown below.
Caterpillar Diesel Thirty Five on August 1, 2009
Caterpillar Diesel Fifty on August 1, 2009
Caterpillar Diesel Seventy Five on August 1, 2009
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