AS I SAW IT Part XI

By Staff
Published on January 1, 1973
1 / 23
Courtesy of Wayne L. Fisher, Reaveley Road, Hancock, New Hampshire 03449.
Courtesy of Wayne L. Fisher, Reaveley Road, Hancock, New Hampshire 03449.
2 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
3 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
4 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
5 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
6 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
7 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
8 / 23
Courtesy of Robert P. Weis, 668 Mount Hermon School, Mount Hermon, Massachusetts 01354.
Courtesy of Robert P. Weis, 668 Mount Hermon School, Mount Hermon, Massachusetts 01354.
9 / 23
Courtesy of Lyle Dumont, 3016 Raven Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
Courtesy of Lyle Dumont, 3016 Raven Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
10 / 23
11 / 23
Courtesy of Andy Kruse, Box 14, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.
Courtesy of Andy Kruse, Box 14, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.
13 / 23
Courtesy of Michael Fuoco, 656 W. Washington Street, Bradford, Pa. 16701.
Courtesy of Michael Fuoco, 656 W. Washington Street, Bradford, Pa. 16701.
14 / 23
Courtesy of Arlo Jurney, F3 Kingsland Tr. Crt., Calgary, Alberta.
Courtesy of Arlo Jurney, F3 Kingsland Tr. Crt., Calgary, Alberta.
15 / 23
Courtesy of Andy Kruse, Box 14, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.
Courtesy of Andy Kruse, Box 14, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.
16 / 23
Courtesy of Eugene H. Kremer & Son, R. R. 3, Box 224A2, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.
Courtesy of Eugene H. Kremer & Son, R. R. 3, Box 224A2, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.
17 / 23
Courtesy of Arlo Jurney, F3 Kingsland Tr. Crt., Calgary, Alberta.
Courtesy of Arlo Jurney, F3 Kingsland Tr. Crt., Calgary, Alberta.
18 / 23
19 / 23
Courtesy of Rolland E. Maxwell, Route 4, Huntington, Indiana 46750.
Courtesy of Rolland E. Maxwell, Route 4, Huntington, Indiana 46750.
20 / 23
Courtesy of Lyle Dumont, 3016 Raven Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
Courtesy of Lyle Dumont, 3016 Raven Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
21 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
22 / 23
Courtesy of John M. Hamilton, 2015 Arthur, Charleston, Illinois 61920.
Courtesy of John M. Hamilton, 2015 Arthur, Charleston, Illinois 61920.
23 / 23
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.
Courtesy of Walt Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263.

Route 4, Huntington, Indiana 46750

Chapter XI will be a continuation of the list of tractors that
have been made over the years. The year is the first year they were
made, then the company name, model, sizes, etc.

The list was started in the Nov.-Dec. 1972 issue of Gas Engine
Magazine.

1917 Fageal Motors Co. Oakland, Cal. ‘Fagael Walking Tractor
6/12’.

1911 Fairbanks Morse Co. Chicago & Racine, Wis. ’12/25
one cyl.’ Farm Engineering Co. Sands Springs, O1k. ‘Little
Chief’.

1920 Farmers Tr. Corp. Oshkosh, Wis. ‘M P 4 25/40′. Farm
Horse Tr. Co. Guetenberg, la.’ Farm Horse 18/30′. Farm
Horse Traction Works, Hartford, S. D. ’15/26′. Farm Horse
Traction Works, Sioux Falls, S. D. ‘Farm Horse 16/30’.
Farmaster Corp. N. Y. Two models. Gas and Diesel.

1917 Farm Power Mach. Co. Chicago, Ill. ‘Fish Gearless
20/30’.

1913 A. B. Farquhar Co. York, Pa. 15-25, 18-35, 25-50.

1934 Fate Root Heath Co. Plymouth, Ohio. ‘Silver
King’.

1918 Federal Tr. Co. Minneapolis, Minn. ‘Tom Thumb
12/20’.

1910 Finchbaugh Mfg. Co. York, Pa. ‘York’. Foote Bros.
Gear & Mach. Co. Chicago, bought the Bates Co. of Lansing,
Mich. 1915 Ford Tr. Co. Minneapolis. ‘Ford’. 8/16 2 cyl.
opp. horiz. eng. 1917 Ford Motor Co. Detroit, Mich.
‘Fordson’.

1903 Foose Gas Eng. Springfield, O. Used Morton chassis and own
engine.

1920 Franklin Tr. Co. Greenville, O.

‘Franklin 15/30 Crawler’. + 12- 25.

1919  Frick Co. Waynesboro, Pa. ‘Frick’. Friday Tr.
Co. Hartford, Mich. ‘Friday’ 6 cyl. Chrysler eng.

1914  Four Wheel Drive Tr. Co. Big Rapids, Mich. ‘Four
Wheel Drive.’

F W D Corp. Clintonville, Wis. 4 wheel dr. Used to be the Eagle
Co. Fox River Tr. Co. Appleton, Wis. ‘Fox 20/40’.

1917 Wm. Galloway Co. Waterloo, Ia. ‘Farmobile 12/20’.
Ganguer & Scott Roberts, La Porte, Ind.

1911 Garr Scott Co. Richmond, Ind. ‘Tiger Pull
40/70’.

1908 Gas Traction Co. Minneapolis, Minn. ‘Big Four’.

1909 Geiser Co. Waynesboro, Pa. 25/50 4 cyl.

1918 Gehl Tr. Co. West Bend, Wis. ‘Gehl 15/30’ 4 cyl.
General Tr. Co. Seattle Wash. ‘Westrac Crawler’. General
Tr. Co. Detroit, Mich. ‘Four wheel drive’. General Oridance
Co. N. Y. City. ‘G O 14/28’.

Fairbanks Z, 3 HP engine at first Annual Gas Engine Meet. This
one belongs to me.

Here is Will Moore’s Olds 6 HP engine.

1917 Gen. Motors, Detroit. Samson M. Combined Sieve Grip and
Janesville Mach. Co. G F H Corp. Denver, Colo. ‘G W 9’.

1918  Gile Tr. Co. Ludington, Mich. ‘Model Q 18 H P D
B’. Gibson Corp. Longmont, Colo. Two models, tricycle type.

1919  Gilson Tr. Co. Guelph, Ont. ‘Dixie Ace
10/20’.

1921 Gladiator Mfg. Co. Los Angeles, Cal. Small Crawler.

1910 Goold, Shapely, & Muir Co. Brant-ford, Ont. In 1918 had
a 12/24′. Good Field Tr. Co. Goodfield, Ill. ‘Goodfield
9/18’.

1931 Graham Bradley. Detroit, Mich. ‘Bradley Sears two
plow’.

1937 Graham Paige Motor Co. Detroit, Mich. ‘Graham Bradley
Sears’ 6 cyl. eng.

1918 Grain Belt Mfg. Co. Fargo, N. D. ‘Grain Belt
18/36’. 4 cyl. vert. cross mt.

1917 Great Western Motor Co. San Jose, Cal. ‘Fafeal’.
Great Western Tr. Co. Council Bluffs, Ia. ‘Great Western
20/30’.

1913 Gramont Tr. Plow Co. Spring-field, Ohio. ‘Auto
Plow’ two cyl. opp.

1916 The Gray Tr. Co. Minneapolis, Minn. ‘Gray’.

1911 Hackney Mfg. Co. St. Paul, Minn. ‘Hackney Auto Plow 40
h.p.’.

1917 Hatfield Penfield Steel Co. Bucyrus, Ohio. ’25/40 semi.
Crawler.

1905 Hagen Gas Eng. Mfg. Co. Frankford, Ky.

1901 Hart Parr Co. Charles City, Ia.

1915 A. T. Harrow Tr. Co. Detroit, Mich. Used to be the Mich.
Tr. Co. Heer Tr. Co. Lansing, Mich. ‘Heer’.

1910 Heer Eng. Co. Portsmouth, Ohio. ‘Heer 25 & 30
H.P.’

1910 Heider Mfg. Co. Carroll, Ia. ‘Heider’.

1910 Henry, Millard & Henry. York, Pa. Big one cyl. like I H
C. Herculeas Tr. Co. Evansville, Ind. Hession Tiller & Tr.
Corp. Buffalo, N. Y.

‘Hession 13/30’. Hicks Tr. Co. Milwaukee, Wis.
‘Hicks 12/25 Semi Crawler’.

1893 J. A. Hocket, Sterling, Kan. Tractors built by The Charter
Eng. Co.

1913  Hoke Tr. Co. South Mend, Ind. 15/30 4 cyl. verti.
Hoke Tr. Co. Washington, Ind.

1914  Holmes Mfg. Co. Port Clinton, Wis. ‘Holmes Little
Giant’. Hollis Tr. Co. Pittsburgh, Pa. ‘Hollis Model H
15/25’.

1920 Holton Tr. Co. Indianapolis, Ind. ‘Holton 10/16’.
1911 Holt Tr. Co. Stockton, Cal. & Peoria, Ill. 1920 Homes
Laughlin Eng. Co. Los Angeles, Cal. ‘Laughlin Husky 10/20
Crawler W. 1920 Hoosier Wheel Co. Franklin, Ind. ‘Hoosier
20/30’. 4 cyl.

1898 Huber Co. Marion, Ohio.

1913 Huffman Traction Eng. Co. Kenton, O. ‘Master
Huffman’.

1914 Humber Anderson Mfg. St. Paul, Minn. ‘The Little
Oak’.

1913 Or 1915 Hume Mfg. Co. Hume, Ill. 50 H.P.

1917 Huron Tr. Co. Chicago, Ill. ‘Huron 12/25’.

1918 Indiana Silo Co. Anderson, Ind. ‘Indiana 5/10’.

1917 Independent Harv. Co. Piano, Ill. ‘Independent
’15/30’. Intercontinental Mfg. Co. Grand Prairie, Tex.
‘Model C 26 H. P.’. International Gas Eng. Co. Cudhay, Wis.
‘Ingeco’. Worthington Gas Eng. Co. Cudahy, Wis.
‘Ingeco’.

1918 Ill. Silo & Tr. Co. Blomington, Ill. ‘Illinois
18/30 4 cyl.’

1905 International Harv. Co. Chicago, Ill. Interstate Tr. Co.
Waterloo, Ia. ‘Plowman 15/30 Buda eng.’.

1910 Imperial Mach. Co. Minneapolis, Minn. ‘Imperial
40/70’. John Deere Harv. Works, Moline, Ill. ‘John Deere
Daine’.

1918 John Deere Co. Moline, Ill. 1923 Model D 15/27′. John
Track-Pull’

1914 Joliet Oil Tr. Co. Joliet, Ill. ‘Joliet 22/40’.

1909 Joy McVicker Co. Mpls. Minn. Steel & Mach. Co. built
their tractors.

1909 Joy Wilson Sales Co. Denver, Colo. Sold the above tractors
for Joy McVicker. Jumbo Steel Products Co. Azusa, Cal.
‘Simpson’ Chrysler engine. J. T. Tr. Co. Cleve-land, Ohio.
‘J. T. 16/32’ Crawler.

At left is a 1920 10-20 HP Titan. On display at Pioneer Acres
Plowman & Thresher’s 3rd Reunion twelve and a half miles
East of Calgary, Alberta, Aug. 12 & 13, 1972. One of the club
members, Gilbert Sather of Calgary, is shown in the picture, the
big man on the right with back to camera, his wife is operating the
Titan.

On the right is a 30-60 Aultman Taylor gas engine. Operator is
Bob Way of Calgary/ Alberta. This is ‘his dream boat’. This
engine was on display at the Pioneer Acres Plowman &
Thresher’s Reunion, on Aug. 12 & 13, 1972, twelve & a
half miles East of Calgary, Alberta.

30-60 Russell owned by Norman Pross of Luverne, North
Dakota.

1916 Kansas City Hay Press Co. Kan. City. ‘Prairie Dog 9/18
& 12/25’. 10-18, 15-30.

1918 Kardell Tr. & Tk. Co. St. Louis, Mo. ‘Utility’.
2 drive in front 1 in rear. Leader 4 wheel drive.

1918 Keck Gonnerman Co. Mt. Vernon, Ind. ‘Keck Gonnerman
12/24’. 15-30.

1918 K C 4 Drive Sales Co. Kan. City, Mo. ‘Four Wheel
Drive’. Key-stone Iron & Steel Works, Los Angeles, Cal.
‘Keystone 15/30 Crawler’.

1916 Killen Strait Mfg. Co. Appleton, Wis.

1901 Kinnard Haines Co. Minneapolis, Minn. ‘Flour City’.
Kinross Peoria, Ill. ‘Kinross American’. Klumb Eng. &
Mach. Co. Sheboygan, Wis. ‘Klumb 10/20’.

1919 Knickerbocker Motor Co. ‘Knicierbocker’.

1920 W. Knudsen Co. Fremont, Tex. ‘Knudsen 25/40’.
Kroyer Motor Co. San Pedro. Cal. ‘Wizard 4 Pull 20/35’.

1914 L. C. Kuhnert Co. Chicago, Ill. ‘Kuhnert 12/29 4
cyl.’.

1921 Aultman Taylor 30-60. A nice tractor. All I have to do now
is finish painting it. Owned by Lyle Dumont and on display at the
Pioneer Museum, Sigourney, Iowa.

Pictured cleaning the gas engines are Roy Goble (left) and Bob
Woodfall both of Charleston, Illinois. They rented a steam jenny
for the weekend. Both men are working on a 3 Hp. Hercules gas
engine. We found that the steam jenny saves time, but there is
still some grease that is too hard and too old to come off. Several
engines in the background are waiting their turn.

Extension Adviser Enjoys Restoring Early Tractors

SPINE SHAKER – This 1928 Hart-Parr was the forerunner of
today’s Oliver, and it had a number of unusual features
including a flywheel which set cross-ways to the tractor; the fan
was driven off the flywheel and had to be tightened before the
engine was started. As the exhaust came out under the front
radiator, the fumes wafted in the face of the operator, as he
bounced along at 2 m.p.h.

The following article and pictures were sent to us by Walt
Townsend, R. R. 3, Nashville, Illinois 62263. We thank William Joy
of the Centralia Evening and Sunday Sentinel newspaper for granting
permission to use same. -GEM

When Walt Townsend was a junior in Effingham High, he and his
dad went to a farm sale to buy a cow and came home with an antique
tractor instead. That was in 1963, and the elder Townsend may have
since regretted his decision to make that first purchase, as it
merely whetted his son’s appetite for the procession of Hubers,
Keck-Gonnermans, Hart-Parrs, and other extinct breeds which were
soon to take their place beside the old Model EK Allis-Chalmers in
the family barnyard.

Walt, who is now Assistant Extension Adviser in Washington
County, still stores the major portion of his collection at his
dad’s place in Effingham; but he also finds it handier to keep
the the tractors he is currently working on at his
brother-in-law’s place, south of Ashley. There, in his spare
time, he can lovingly restore some of those rusted iron-wheeled
ruins to their proper running order.

EARLY CATERPILLAR – This early Cat was sold by Fabick Tractor in
Salem in 1928, and it was used to build the highway east of Newton.
Each of the 4 cylinders is separate, and the motor was turned over
by the rather dangerous method of inserting a rod in the fly-wheel.
From left are: Sam Townsend of Kankakee, Samuel Townsend
(Walt’s dad), Walt, and his brother, Tom, who teaches school in
Mascoutah.

JOHN DEERE AR – Walt’s wife, Jan, lets their baby get the
feel of the wheel behind a 1937 model which was purchased from Alex
Jozwiak (above) who lives south of Nashville. Jozwiak worked two
evenings to rebuild the carburetor so that the tractor would be in
working order when Townsend bought it.

SMALLEST CASE — This is just about the smallest model Case
built and Townsend plans to combine it with a 20-inch Case
thresher, giving him the smallest Case threshing outfit in the
world. The 4-cylinder, 1937 tractor was bought in the Belleville
area; and Walt showed it last year at the Threshermen’s Show in
Pinckneyville.

BUDDING COLLECTOR – Most babies have their picture taken on a
bear rug, but the infant Walt Townsend had his taken on the family
10-20 McCormick-Deering tractor. The steel wheels of this 1930
model had been cut down for rubber tires by the time this picture
was taken in 1948.

Since many of these obsolete machines have not been started in
years, it takes hours of work before the engines are repaired and
the frames repainted in their original factory colors. Although it
is not unusual to find these venerable machines abandoned in a back
pasture or crumblind out-building, Townsend recalls a particular
problem he had with the purchase of his 1928 Hart-Parr. The
forgotten tractor had been sitting in the field so long that Walt
had to spend several hours chopping out the trees that had
surrounded it during the years of disuse.

PRIDE AND JOY – Townsend describes this 1 h.p. Mogul made by
International-Harvester, as ‘one of my pride and joys.’ The
neat little engine will run on gasoline, motor spirits, kerosene
and gas. Townsend bought it from Leroy Woker of Nashville, who
wouldn’t sell it until he got it started. The engine dates from
the early teens and was used by Woker to saw firewood.

Walt’s early fondness for antique farm machinery was
inspired by the stories his father told him about the days when he
worked with the threshing crews in the northern part of the state.
Like many others, Walt is still fascinated by those impressive,
smoke-belching monsters; and would someday like to add a steam
traction engine to his collection.

HACKSEL-CUTTER – Many Washington and Clinton County farmers
won’t need and explanation for Hacksel, a German word meaning
‘chopped straw.’ In the old days, oats, both the grain and
straw, were chopped for horse feed; and this one-cylinder, 6 h.p.
engine could be used to run the hacksel-cutter. Townsend bought
this 1913 model, made by Stover in Freeport, III., from Virgil
Blumhorst of Addieville. Before the days of power-driven hacksel
machines, the horses chopped their own food by walking in a circle
and turning the cutter’s wheel.

Townsend is presently an alternate director of the American
Threshermen’s Association, and he exhibits a few of his
tractors at the group’s annual show at the Perry County
fairgrounds in Pinckneyville. This year, the Thresher-men will be
revving up their engines from August 17 to 20, and Walt like many
others is looking forward to the exhibit, which has become a major
attraction in the area.

To the restorer of antique machinery there can be few more
satisfying sounds than the whir of a smoothly running engine. And
just as beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, so music
may well be in the ear of the listener. Although the splutter of a
one-lunger may seem like to noise to some, Walt enjoys listening to
his engines.

‘Sometimes,’ he says, ‘when I’m here alone,
fixing my tractors, I start the engines and the sound keeps me
company while I’m working.’

CRANKING HER UP – The metal lugs on the iron wheel of the old
tractors were death on the county roads, as they did a remarkable
job of chewing up black-top. The prospective customer could select
the wheel size to match his soil type; and one of Townsend’s
old catalogues shows 8 different wheel widths to choose from. The
Twin City 20-35 has 4 cylinders and was made in the twenties; the
company has since become part of Minneapolis-Moline. The tractor
cost about $800 when it was new.

One has to agree that even if today’s farm machinery is more
efficient and reliable, there’s a certain fascination about the
more primitive and tempermental equipment of the past. And when
that awesome moment comes at Pinckneyville, as the assembled steam
engines sound their whistles in unison, in memory of the departed
threshermen, it somehow evokes a tingle of nostalgia and sadness,
even in those too young to remember the past glories of the steam
age. And so long as boys get that certain twinge when they hear
those chugs and whistles, people like Walt Townsend will find a
special pleasure and reward in the labor of restoring old fashioned
farm equipment.

My Simplicity-powered saw rig which is 8 HP and has cut several
cords of wood this fall. I would like to know its age and to hear
from other Simplicity owners. It was manufactured in Worcester,
Massachusetts by the Richardson Mfg. Co-

Mogul 10-20. This tractor is in good condition and runs well. On
display at the Pioneer Museum, Sigourney, Iowa.

The photograph shows a combination engine and compressor
manufactured by the Flickinger Iron Works Inc. of Bradford, Pa. The
engine operates on natural gas and was used to furnish starting air
for a much larger Flickinger engine-compressor that supplied air to
pump oil wells. The serial no. is 282 and has a patent date of
April 9, 1902.

The method of compressing the air is interesting. The rear of
the cylinder is sealed off by means of a stuffing box and contains
the air inlet and discharge valves. The air is compressed by the
rear of the piston on both the power and intake strokes. With this
arrangement only one piston is needed for power and
compressing.

Because of this arrangement, it is necessary to use a crosshead
which makes the Flickinger unique among small four cycle
engines.

The governor is of the pendulum pick type which is mounted on
the eccentric operated exhaust valve pushrod. The governor operates
by preventing the exhaust valve from opening, making the engine
miss under full compression.

The bore is 5.25 in. and the stroke is 7 in. The flywheels are
30 in. diameter. The ignition is by a hot tube or a Bosch high
tension oscillating magneto.

Although it has not been used in over 30 years, it is in good
mechanical shape.

Faribault 6 HP, No. 640 built at Faribault, Minnesota. Restored
by Andy and shown at N. T. A. Show, Wauseon, Ohio Show 1970.

Gearless Olds 3 HP, Serial No. 5387. Built by Olds Motor Work;,
about 1896. Restored by Andy and shown at Baraboo, Wisconsin Show
in 1971.

This picture was taken in 1940. That’s me (Arlo) on the
engine, a 22-36 McCormick Deering pulling a 10-foot I. H. C.
power-take-off binder, and an 8-foot I. H. C. horse binder (with a
special hitch). That’s my Dad (Howard Jurney) on the rear
binder. This was a good engine for pulling a 24′ brush breaker
as it had the weight and clearance underneath.

I was very much interested in your article of ‘Antique
Machinery’ in the Nov.-Dec. ’72 issue concerning the Regan
gasoline engine. I too, have an old engine and am not sure as to
the date of manufacture. It is a Pierce one cylinder, made in
Racine, Wisconsin. The piston goes down toward the platform. This
engine works without a spark-plug. It has a metal tongue recessed
in the cylinder head and a rod cast in the piston that contacts the
tongue to complete the circuit. When the piston leaves the metal
tongue the circuit breaks and fires. This is done with a low
tension coil and hot shot.

Above is a picture of the engine. The gas tank and water tank
are of my own making. I would like to know if anyone would have
information on this engine. This engine is a hit and miss and runs
like a sewing machine.

I have other engines in my collection too; including one of the
first Waterloo Boy’s, a Witte (which is very old) and a Casey
Jones. We really enjoy collecting and restoring these engines. We
have a total of fourteen restored in mint condition now. All are
fairly rare. Your Gas Engine Magazine is thoroughly enjoyed when it
arrives.

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