The three wheel tractor craze swept North America

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Published on Friday, October 7, 2016

Photos courtesy of the Manitoba Agricultural Museum. A 7-20 Canadian Bull Tractor, pulling a two-furrow, Powerlift “Enicar”, made by J.I. Case Plow Works, Racine, Wis. One of the first three wheeled tractors, it was underpowered and would sometimes fall over when turning right.

Submitted

Manitoba Agricultural Museum

The images of the 1916 Brandon Light Tractor Plowing Demonstration demonstrate a significant craze in tractor design which was sweeping North America at the time. By 1916, the day of the Prairie style gas tractor was coming to an end. Designers and manufacturers realized they needed tractors which were suitable for smaller farms and for jobs such as seeding, harrowing and grain binding. So smaller tractors began to be designed. Cost was also a concern, as the industry realized that if tractors were to replace horses, then the cost of manufacturing needed to be held down. This need to reduce cost led to the three wheeler craze. 

It appears that D.M. Hartsough realized that if one designed a tractor with only one wheel being driven,  then one could avoid the need for a differential, so reducing the cost of the tractor.  Hartsough had been involved with tractor design, beginning with early experiments in 1899. He went on to design the Big Four tractors built by the Gas Traction Company. He designed the Bull tractor, which was put into production in 1914.  It was a very odd looking tractor, with one large rear wheel, which was driven. There was also another rear wheel, which was much smaller, and not driven. The tractor had one wheel at the front, but in line with the rear drive wheel.  A further oddity was that the small rear wheel could be adjusted up and down by means of a crank. When plowing, the rear drive wheel and front wheel ran in the furrow. By adjusting the small rear wheel, you could keep the tractor level. 

The big downfall to the Bull tractor was that it was not very powerful, being rated as five horsepower at the drawbar and 12 horse on the belt in the first model. The Bull also had the alarming ability to sometimes fall over on its right side when making a right hand turn. The problem occurred enough times, that later Bulls had a substantial metal rod hanging down from the outside of the right fender which was hinged at the fender. As the tractor began to tip over, the rod swung out, contacted the ground and arrested the fall. The Bull was cheap however, costing less than $500 and 3,800 Bulls sold in the first nine months. With a sales success like this, other manufacturers began to manufacture their copies of the Bull design.

The Bull tractor and other three wheelers appeared at the 1916 Brandon Tractor Demonstrations. The Peoria 8-20 tractor and Grain Growers Special 12-24 tractor were very similar to the Bull design. Under its tin work, the Case 10-20 was also quite similar to the Bull. Emerson Brantingham’s Model L 10-20 tractor and the Hart Parr “Little Devil” were variations on the three wheel design. They had only one rear wheel with two front wheels which steered. The rear wheel was driven. 

The Hart-Parr 22 h.p. “Little Devil” pulling a 3-furrow Cockshutt Special Light Tractor Plow.

Little is known about the Peoria 8-20. It apparently was equipped with a Beaver 4 cylinder engine and sold for $685 in the US.  

The Grain Growers Special 12-24 was a tractor sold by the Grain Growers Grain Company which later became the United Grain Growers. The Grain Growers entered the farm supply business in 1913, selling lumber, fence posts, barbed wire, binder twine and other items. In 1914, the Grain Growers decided to handle farm implements and contracted with US machinery makers for supplies of plows and so on. 

The Grain Growers also signed a five year contract with the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery (MS&M) Company for a supply of the MS&M’s Twin City Twentieth Century tractor which the Grain Growers rebadged as the Grain Growers Special. MS&M was the manufacturer of the Twin City line of tractors and in 1914, was also manufacturing Bull tractors for Bull Tractor Company. The Twentieth Century tractor was sold only in Canada. The tractor was larger than a Bull tractor and was equipped with a two cylinder opposed engine. 

While the contract was signed for five years, MS&M appears to have quit manufacturing the tractor in 1917. The Canadian Government changed the rules on valuing of machinery brought into Canada in 1916 which increased the duties collected and consequently the prices of machinery. While this rule did not last long in the face of serious complaints, the Grain Growers had a difficult time selling farm machinery with this rule in place. By 1922, the Grain Growers were out of the farm machinery business altogether.

The Case company entered the three wheeled tractor business in 1915, when it introduced the 10-20 tractor. It was equipped with a four cylinder vertical engine, which was successful enough that it was used on the Case cross mount tractors. The Case 10-20 possessed the ability to power the left hand rear wheel in the forward gear only. No other three wheeler design appears to have had this option. 

The Model L was Emerson Brantingham’s initial foray into small tractor design and manufacture but could not be called a success, as the engine had numerous design and manufacturing flaws. 

The Hart Parr “Little Devil” was aptly named, as it was powered with a two stroke engine. It was possible for this engine to run in reverse and it would do so when lugged right down. Of course when it began running in reverse, the drive train began running in reverse which meant the tractor was backing up.  All of this could happen very suddenly. The operators seat was rather exposed and a less than alert operator could be crushed between the tractor and implement. Most Little Devil tractors were soon recalled by Hart Parr and scrapped. 

While the Happy Farmer tractor looked very similar to the Bull tractor, it possessed two driven rear wheels. It is said of the Happy Farmer tractor that it made its owner happy on two occasions only, the day it arrived on the farm and the day it left. D.M. Hartsough designed the Happy Farmer shortly after he designed the Bull tractor. Hartsough had fallen out with his partner in the Bull Company and left the company to go to Happy Farmer.  D.M. Hartsough was a prolific designer involved with the Big Four tractor, the Bull tractor, Happy Farmer tractor, Lion tractor, possibly the Minneapolis Ford tractor and the LaCrosse tractor, all within 20 years. 

The early years of the tractor business were a very interesting affair, with various designers working for competing companies almost at the same time, companies manufacturing tractors for other companies and stealing their ideas, if not designs!

The three wheeler craze did not last long, as the design was just too limited. Bull was bankrupt by 1920 and other manufacturers of three wheel tractors turned to more conventional designs. Case was the exception, as the Case 10-20 stayed in production until 1922.

The Manitoba Agricultural Museum is open year round and operates a website at  http://ag-museum.mb.ca/ which can provide visitors with information on Museum including location and hours of operation.