12498-232 St., Maple Ridge, Haney, B. C. Canada.
Before the First World War farmers were looking for a lighter
power than the heavy steam engine to break up the prairie lands of
Western Canada and the United States. Steam had some advantages; it
had disadvantages, especially with the alkali water that was found
throughout the West, and the Mogul was not the first tractor
made.
About 1905, International Harvester made a good portable and
stationary gasoline engine. It would do belt work but would not
plow, so in 1906 they started experiments with a tractor, and by
1908 they had a 10 h. p. tractor on the market. Later they had a
15-20 h. p. These were single cylinder friction drive with battery
ignition, screen tank cooling, with a canopy. About 1910 the 45 h.
p., 2 cylinder opposed cylinder tractor was built at the Chicago
Works. It had open tower cooling, hit and miss type fly ball
governor, low tension make and break ignition with the contact
platinum points inside the cylinder.
In 1911 the larger cylinder 30-60 h. p. was built with throttle
governor, a better cooling system, and a long canopy extending the
full length of the tractor to the screen tank cooling system. This
tractor had a speed of 2? miles per hour and weighed 21,700 lbs.
empty-sold for $2,500 f. o. b. Chicago.
In 1913 the Mogul Junior was made. This tractor was a one
cylinder, had a force feed oiling system, 8′ bore by 14′
stroke, and ran at 250 r. p. m. It weighed 10,500 lbs., sold at
Winnipeg for $1,420, and was entered in the Winnipeg tractor
trials.
The 24-45, 2 cylinder tractor with a bore of 9′ x 14′
stroke, a speed of 320 r. p. m., weight 22,000 lbs., and sale price
$2,000 f. o. b. Winnipeg; was also entered in the 1912 Tractor
Trials and did very well.
The year 1913 saw the 12-25, 2 cylinder op
posed Mogul in production. It had a disk plate clutch, chain drive
on both sides of the tractor to the drive wheels. It had spark jump
and spark plug ignition, automatic steering. The engine was encased
in a dust proof steel case with a hand door on each side. It was
the first Mogul tractor to be radiator and fan-cooled. It had a
separate carburetor for each cylinder and was the only Mogul to
have a two speed gear box with a low of 2 m. p. h. and a high of 4
m. p. h., and an engine speed of 550 r. p. m. Its weight was 10,000
lbs. and it would pull a 4 bottom 14′ plow and drive a 28 x 48
separator.
A number of these tractors were shipped to England during World
War I and sold there for 580 pounds (English money) or roughly
$2,400. This tractor had the belt pulley on the right side and it
was operated by a separate lever in the locomotive type cab. I saw
several of these tractors when I was overseas, but only one in
Canada.
In 1914 the 8-16 h. p. single cylinder hopper cooled tractor
came out. This was a two plow that had a planetary gear, single
speed, a single final chain drive with the differential mounted on
the back axle. The front wheels steered by a rack and worm gear. It
had a Wico oscillating low tension magneto and the belt pulley was
mounted on the only flywheel and operated by hand wheel clutch. Its
speed was 400 r. p. m., weight 5,000 lbs., and sale price f. o. b.
Chicago, $675.
1913 – 1919 12-25 h. p., 2 speed Mogul Tractor.
1906 Type A, Friction drive, 15 h. p. Mogul hauling a
separator.
10-20 h. p. single cylinder hopper cooled Mogul Tractor and 2
furrow Massey-Harris Plow.
1910 Type C, single Cylinder Mogul, 8′ bore, 16′ stroke,
250 r. p. m. Tractor threshing.
In 1916 the last of the Moguls was built. The 10-20
hopper-cooled single cylinder was a larger version of the 8-16. It
had a two speed sliding gear trans?mission, a single chain drive,
and like all the Moguls, one clutch for the trans?mission and one
clutch, mostly hand wheel type for the belt pulley. From the first
Mogul made to the final produc?tion in 1919, 20,385 Mogul Tractors
were made and sold to just about every country in the world. They
were used for about every job on the farms and in industry. I have
stood on the platforms and sat on the seats of all these models,
but the only one I operated was the 1910-14 type C, single
cylinder, that was used for threshing in Alberta during the
1920’s.
I am glad to know that in the Pioneer Museum at Wetaskewin,
Alberta, there are 4 or 5, 8-16 Mogul Tractors and at the Saskatoon
Museum, they have a a 25-45, 2 cylinder, and a 10-20 hopper-cooled.
I think, at Yorkton and North Battle ford, they have a 12-25 h. p.
Mogul. All Mogul tractors were kerosene burners.
