The Allis-Chalmers Model 6-12 was a farm tractor produced by Allis-Chalmers between 1918 and 1923. [2] Like many other tractors of the era, its model name came from its horsepower ratings, with 6-12 (or 6/12) meaning 6 hp at the drawbar and 12 hp at the belt pulley.
The Allis 6-12 was an early attempt at a lightweight, versatile, low-cost, general-purpose tractor that would be suitable for all of the work on a farm, including not only traction work (such as ploughing and harrowing) and belt work (such as threshing and sawing) but also cultivating. Like other two-wheel tractors, it used its implement to provide the rear axle to make up a four-wheel articulated unit, with the operator riding the implement.
The Allis 6-12 entered the market at a time when the mechanization of agriculture was underway but was far from complete. Tractors had not yet managed to completely replace the horse team for all farm tasks. The product category of row-crop tractors as we know them today had not yet been developed, and the Allis 6-12 had a very attractive value proposition. Unfortunately that proposition was also suspiciously similar to that of the Moline Universal tractor, which had been on the market for about 2 years before the Allis 6-12 appeared. Moline Plow considered the Allis 6-12 a patent-infringing copy. [2] The late 1910s were a period when various two-wheeled and three-wheeled tractors were on the U.S. market. Moline Plow had by no means invented such configurations. However, the Allis 6-12 was especially similar to the Moline Universal, lending credibility to Moline Plow's assertion that it was a copy.
Both the Allis 6-12 and the Moline Universal ended production in 1923. By then, not only had an economic recession and resulting tractor price war damaged such companies' finances, but also, the tractor market was evolving. Going forward, newer four-wheel designs (such as the Farmall), which would become what we now call the row-crop tractor category, would be the focus of the light farm tractor market. Two-wheel tractors would continue to have a place in agriculture both in the U.S. and around the world, but they would no longer compete in the same market segment as the larger four-wheel row-crop designs. However, the Allis-Chalmers Model G, introduced two decades later, was an interesting design that in some respects echoed the concept of the 6-12, albeit now "facing the other way", with the implement leading and the motorized drive unit now pushing rather than pulling.
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially tillage, and now many more. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanised.
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere, is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. The company also provides financial services and other related activities.
Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to 1928, and by Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1929 to 1964. The latter also later built trucks and vans under the Fordson brand.
Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial settings such as factories, flour mills, sawmills, textile mills, steel mills, refineries, mines, and ore mills.
A cultivator is a piece of agricultural equipment used for secondary tillage. One sense of the name refers to frames with teeth that pierce the soil as they are dragged through it linearly. It also refers to machines that use rotary motion of disks or teeth to accomplish a similar result. The rotary tiller is a principal example.
Minneapolis-Moline was a large tractor and farm and industrial machinery producer based in Minneapolis and Hopkins, Minnesota, Minnesota known for its Minneapolis-Moline tractor line. It was the product of a merger of three companies in 1929: Minneapolis Steel & Machinery (MSM) which was noted for its Twin City tractors, Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company (MTM) which also produced Minneapolis tractors, and the Moline Implement Company formerly known as the Moline Plow Company. It had manufacturing facilities on Lake Street at Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis, MN, in Hopkins, MN and in Moline, IL. Originally known as the Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company, and later shortened Minneapolis-Moline Company. Motec Industries was a short lived corporate name change from ca. 1960 until the companies acquisition by White Motor Corporation in 1963. <<prairiegoldrush.com>>
Farmall was a model name and later a brand name for tractors manufactured by International Harvester (IH), an American truck, tractor, and construction equipment company. The Farmall name was usually presented as McCormick-Deering Farmall and later McCormick Farmall in the evolving brand architecture of IH.
Gravely, of Brillion, Wisconsin, is a manufacturer of powered lawn and garden implements which it describes as "walk-behind, zero turn and outfront mowers". It started as a manufacturer of "walk-behind" or two-wheel tractors.
The Allis-Chalmers model B was a small agricultural tractor produced by the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing company from 1937 to 1957. With over 125,000 units produced, the model B became one of the best selling and longest-produced tractors for Allis-Chalmers. The B came in several different variations including the Asparagus B, Potato Special, and the IB industrial tractor, and gave rise to the larger Allis-Chalmers Model C. The Model B was styled by Brooks Stevens, an industrial designer and graphic designer.
Two-wheel tractor or walking tractor are generic terms understood in the US and in parts of Europe to represent a single-axle tractor, which is a tractor with one axle, self-powered and self-propelled, which can pull and power various farm implements such as a trailer, cultivator or harrow, a plough, or various seeders and harvesters. The operator usually walks behind it or rides the implement being towed. Similar terms are mistakenly applied to the household rotary tiller or power tiller; although these may be wheeled and/or self-propelled, they are not tailored for towing implements. A two-wheeled tractor specializes in pulling any of numerous types of implements, whereas rotary tillers specialize in soil tillage with their dedicated digging tools. This article concerns two-wheeled tractors as distinguished from such tillers.
Cockshutt was a large agricultural machinery manufacturer, known as Cockshutt Farm Equipment Limited (1957–1962), based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
The Massey-Harris Model 101 was a tractor built by Massey-Harris from 1938 to 1946. Developed under the guidance of James S. Duncan, who gambled corporate losses would drop and won, the 101 introduced the Chrysler L-head inline six. The six would compete with Oliver's straight-six Model 70, while saving money on development of a whole new engine as well as taking advantage of Chrysler's existing parts and service network.
The Gleaner Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of combine harvesters. Gleaner has been a popular brand of combine harvester particularly in the Midwestern United States for many decades, first as an independent firm, and later as a division of Allis-Chalmers. The Gleaner brand continues today under the ownership of AGCO.
The Allis-Chalmers D series is a line of tractors made by the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company from 1957 to 1969.
The Model WC was a tractor made by Allis-Chalmers from 1933 to 1948. The WC was designed from its start as a nimble, low-cost, but well-powered row-crop tractor that would make the best use of pneumatic rubber tires, which Allis-Chalmers had just introduced to agriculture in 1932. A successful model at the historical height of row-crop tractor demand, the WC was the best-selling tractor model that Allis-Chalmers ever built.
The Moline Plow Company was an American manufacturer of plows and other farm implements, headquartered in Moline, Illinois, USA.
The Cockshutt 30 row-crop tractor was the first production tractor to be manufactured in Canada. The Cockshutt Plow Company had previously imported rebranded Oliver and Allis-Chalmers tractors from the United States. The Model 30 marked Cockshutt's emergence as a full-line agricultural manufacturer. The tractors were built in Cockshutt's Brantford, Ontario plant. The Model 30 was noted for its introduction of a live power take-off (PTO), the first such accessory that could be operated whether the tractor was moving or stationary. Through the model's production span it was itself resold in the United States as the CO-OP E3 and the Gambles Farmcrest 30.
The Cockshutt 50 row-crop tractor was a row-crop tractor produced by the Cockshutt Plow Company, from 1953 to 1957. It was the largest of a series of Canadian-produced tractors that started with the Cockshutt 30, and was based on the Cockshutt 40 with a more powerful engine. The 50 was a large four or five-plow tractor for general use. The 50 was sold in the United States as the CO-OP E5.
The Allis-Chalmers Model C was a small row-crop tractor manufactured by Allis-Chalmers from 1940 to 1949. It was developed from the smaller Allis-Chalmers Model B.