Route 4, Huntington, Indiana 46750
This article has to do with IHC Co. and the old Mogul 45 tractor
made in 1910. In 1906, ’07, and ’08, IHC contracted with
The Ohio Tractor Of Upper Dandusky, Ohio to build the chassis and
put their Famous gasoline engine on them in sizes 8, 12, 15, and 20
HP. which were all big one cylinder machines described in my last
chapter. Gasoline engines were already being made in the Racine
plant, so in 1908 when I.H.C. bought out the Ohio Tractor plant
they moved it to Racine and to a new tractor plant being built in
Chicago, Illinois. The Titans were to be built in Racine and Moguls
in Chicago. You may wonder why the two plants. At that time I.H.C.
was made up of The McCormick and the Deering Families and that they
each had their own ideas as how to run things. The Titans were the
Deering and the Moguls the McCormick line. For some years they made
these two lines in direct competition with each other and in many
instances sold by the same dealer, and not too much difference
between the tractors.
Now in 1910 they came out with a 45 HP Titan which had a twin
cyl. 9-14 at 335 R.P.M. Now at the same time they brought out a 45
H.P. Mogul with an opposed engine of the same size which they later
in 1913 called a 30-60. Now some have argued that these were the
same tractor but that is not so. Notice the difference in the two
pictures. I have enclosed, to show the physical differences. The 45
was gear driven forward and friction reverse, open tower inducted
draft cooling, belt driven fan, hit and miss ignition with battery
start and motsinger auto spark with ignitor instead of spark plugs.
I have heard the 30-60 had a larger engine but cannot find that in
their advetising literature. In the 30-60 the water pump was
located differently and was chain driven. On the 30-60, the
45’s suction type intake valve, hit and miss ign. fly ball
governor and low tension mag and weighed 18,500#. The 30-60 was
throttling gov. and weighed 20,700#.
They were usually equipped with acetylene headlights and pulled
8 to ten plows. A picture in the catalog showed a 45 pulling twelve
plows on the Elk Valley Farm at Larimore, North Dakota.
Just when they changed from the flat top to the cab top I am not
certain about. All the 45’s I’ve seen have the cab top. Now
both of these tractors were big, heavy and cumbersome to drive.
Cyrus McCormick said then that his IHC had the world by the tail in
the big tractor field. He forgot that Hart Parr started in 1902 and
by 1912 were shipping tactors by the train load west. Also being
made were Avery, Twin City, Four City Gas Traction and Pioneer,
beside a few others. The Dakotas and Canada were being opened up
and would take most anything that would run.
I.H.C. had one advantage because they were making a full line of
farming equipment to match their tractors, and most of the other
tractor companies were not. While slow and cumbersome to get
around, those big engines with their heavy flywheels were really
work horses, especially in the belt. I once met one on the road
pulling two road graders, one a right hand and the other a left
hand and one could hear that engine a mile away. They usually
pulled eight or ten plows depending upon conditions. It is
surprising how many are still around. Probably fifteen or more are
left. The picture often shown is of three Moguls pulling the
fifty-five bottom Oliver plow at South Bend in 1911. The tractor
pictured here is a 1910. In 1913 a 15-30 Mogul Jr.; and a 12-25 two
cyl. Neither of these became popular, but were good work
horses.