Submitted by Jim Adams Midwest Old Threshers, Rt. 1, Threshers
Road, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa 52641
The Eagle ‘6-A’ tractor owned by Richard ‘Dick’
Grimm, Charlotte, Iowa will be ‘Featured Tractor’ at the
1989 Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. It was purchased
from Daniel Pelnar, Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1983 over the
telephone and restored in 1988.
The Eagle ‘6A’ tractor was built in Appleton, Wisconsin
by the Eagle Manufacturing Company. It was tested by Nebraska Test
October 21-November 1, 1930, closing out the Nebraska Tests for the
1930 testing season. It was given a 22-37 rating under A.S.A.E. and
S.A.E. test codes.
A Hercules 6-cylinder vertical, L-head engine was featured.
Rated at 1416 rpm, it carried a 4×41/2′ bore and stroke.
Standard items were a U6 magneto and a Zenith 96ATO carburetor.
This tractor weighed approximately 5500 pounds and was powered by a
gasoline engine. Up until this time, the Eagle tractor was powered
by a 2-cylinder engine. Contrary to belief that this tractor was
related to the Allis Chalmers, I truly believe that this is
fiction, not fact in any way.
Prior to the Eagle 6 that is on display for the 1989 season in
the Old Threshers Heritage Museum, the company made a tractor in
1906 which used an opposed 2-cylinder engine. In 1911, an Eagle 56
horsepower model was introduced with a 4-cylinder engine with an
8′ bore and 8′ stroke that operated at 425 rpm with a
drawbar rating of 45 horsepower. In 1916, two Eagle tractors were
offered-an 8-16 and a 16-30. The Eagle 16-30 was offered from 1916
to 1932. From 1917 to 1924, the 12-20 and the 12-22 were in
production. It was also a 2-cylinder, 7’x8′ engine. From
1925 to 1928, 2-cylinder tractors were very popular, as was the
Eagle.
The last two Eagle heavyweight models were the 20-36 ‘E’
and the 20-40 ‘H’. Both were equipped with 2-cylinder
engines of 8′ bore, but the ‘E’ had a 9′ stroke and
the ‘H’ traveled 10′. The model ‘E’ was listed
from 1929-1934, and the 20-40 ‘H’ went from 1926-1938. The
Eagle went from 2-cylinder to 6-cylinder in the new Eagle
‘6-A’ tested in Nebraska in 1930. Directories for a 1934
show a Waukesha 4’x43/4′ engine. The Eagle Company
suspended production of tractors during World War II and apparently
did not resume manufacture after the war.
Like the gas engine area at the Old Threshers Reunion in Mt.
Pleasant, the tractor area has been one of the fastest growing
areas also. Exhibitors are encouraged to participate in a variety
of action demonstrations designed to entertain Reunion visitors.
Over 300 quality restorations in excellent working order are
displayed by proud owners more than willing to answer questions
about their tractors. Don’t miss the display of machines that
helped to establish our agricultural way of life in America!
Note: Elmer Geigle is on the Board of the Midwest Old Settlers
and Threshers Association, Inc. in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Geigle, from
Walcott, Iowa, is the Director in charge of antique tractors for
the Association.
