[AT] "First" diesel crawler w/ Blade

[Landen Schooler]

Cat may have beat Cletrac by 2 years, But Cletrac had a more
advanced machine at the time.

Landen Schooler
Palmyra, Iowa
HPOCA

"The majority of the tractors built 1920-1930 used kerosene fuel, 
because it was cheapier than gasoline. Gasoline was used for starting. 
Cleveland Tractor Company introduced their first diesel-powered Crawler 
(Cletrac Diesel 80 or Cletrac 60-80) in 1933. It used six-cylinder 
Hercules engine with about 90 hp. Cletrac used electric start on their 
diesels and indeed from about 1930 offered them on all their crawlers. 
This, combined with the controllod differential steering using band brakes 
that allowed both tracks to be driven whilst turning, helped Cletracs to 
become a popular tractor among farmers and industrial users."

http://www.uta.fi/~latevu/encletrac.htm


DAVIESW739 at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Secrecy shrouded the experiments on a diesel  engine that was mounted on a
> crawler tractor on Oct. 26,1930. In 1931  Caterpillar became the first company
> to offer a crawler tractor powered with a  diesel engine.
> 
> from the Encyclopedia of American Tractors by C.H.  Wendel
> 
> Walt Davies
> Cooper Hollow Farm
> Monmouth, OR  97361
> 503 623-0460