AS I SAW IT

By Staff
Published on May 1, 1977
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Route 4, Huntington, Indiana 46750

The Bull Company was organized in 1913. They contracted with
Minneapolis Steel and Machine Company to build their tractor on
contract for them. That company had been building structional steel
for buildings, bridges, etc. They really got started in 1914 and
sold 3900 that year. They quit in 1918 after building 8,000
tractors. They first built The Little Bull and then The Big Bull
which was about a 8-16 two plow size. Not a whirlwind of a success,
but it did whet the appetite for a smaller sized tractor. There are
still several of those tractors around yet. I drive one at the
Rollag, Minnesota Show.

In 1914 I.H.C. came out with their 8-16 Mogul, a one cylinder
two-bottom tractor, had a good following because it sold for $675
and pulled two plows. There are still a number of them around yet.
In 1916 they raised it to 10-20 and increased it to 8-12 engine at
425 RPM. This was a better tractor and its weakest point was being
chain driven. I own one and it is a dandy too. Then they brought
out a 12-25 with a two cylinder opposed engine. Not too popular.
All the time they were making a 45 HP and a 30-60, both two cyl.
opposed engines. They quit the larger sizes in 1917, but continued
the smaller until about 1920. There were a total of 20,385 Moguls
built and 65 still exist today. I might add, that at the last The
Turo Company was making engines for the Bull tractor. That company
is still going strong today making the Turo lawn mowers.

At the same time in 1914 I.H.C. started making the 10-20 Titan
using a twin cylinder 6-1/2 x 8 at 500 RPM. This was a very popular
tractor and they made a total of 60,969 Titans; in fact in 1918
they were starting a new Titan every four and a half minutes.These
were a very good tractor. They still had the chain drive, but their
engines were very good. I’ve seen men who traded tractors and
still kept their Titan for belt work. They started selling them for
$1000, but later dropped them to $900 and eventually in a price war
with Ford, got them down to $700 and threw in a plow to boot. They
discontinued production in 1922.

In 1915 they came out with a 12-25 Titan which had a four
cylinder horizontal engine; the first four cylinder engine they had
made. They still had the chain drive, but had the chains enclosed
which was good. This was a four plow tractor and would handle a
28′ separator. My father’s first tractor was one of these
and it gave good service. The different tractor salesmen were
bothering father to sell him a tractor and after much meditation,
he chose the 12-25 Titan and it was a good choice. He took it
mainly because it was four cylinder. Up to this time all the
smaller tractors were all one or two cylinder. They came equipped
with a cab.

In 1918 they changed the name to 15-30 International. They
turned the radiator around and made a few minor changes including
making the cab optional. Both this Titan and the International had
water pumps and fans for cooling and the oiling was by a Madison
Kipp lubricator. Plow guides were also supplied upon request. They
were discontinued in 1922 when the new McCormick Deering line came
out in 1923.

In 1917 they discontinued making the 18-36 and 30-60 Titans, but
came out with the 8-16 International which was the best tractor
they had made up to this time. It had a vertical engine, overhead
valves and removable sleeves and a little more speed. This was a
very good tractor for its day and was well accepted By the trade.
It was a two plow tractor. It was still chain driven which was its
greatest drawback. In looking this over, one wonders why the
companies could not get away from the chain drive. They nearly all
had it.

The Titans and the Moguls were all underrated. In 1920 the Nebr.
tests showed a 10-20 Titan doing 15.65 drawbar HP and 28-15 HP on
the belt.

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