[AT] "First" diesel crawler w/ Blade

[charlie hill]

I think the use of diesels in crawlers (and wheel tractors too) had more to 
do with the availability of reliable diesel engines than anything else.  AC 
experimented with a diesel crawler in 1927 but never brought that one to 
production.  I read somewhere that another brand (don't remember which) got 
frustrated with problems with diesels and went back to gas and kerosene 
power in that same time period.   As soon as there were reliable diesel 
designs everyone jumped on board pretty quickly.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Landen Schooler" <skoullar at ix.netcom.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 8:50 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] "First" diesel crawler w/ Blade


>
> 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
>
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