Tractor Guide
A tractor is a vehicle intended for drawing, towing, pushing
or pulling something which cannot propel itself and, often,
powering it too. Most commonly the word is used to describe
a vehicle intended for pulling some other vehicle or object
(see traction unit).
The word comes from the Latin trahere "to pull".
A conflicting history of the name suggests that steam tractors
were originally referred to as traction engines, with the word
"tractor" eventually deriving from a contraction of
'traction' and 'motor'.
Farm Tractor:
The most common use of the term is for the vehicles used on
farms. The farm tractor is used for pulling or pushing agricultural
machinery or trailers, for plowing, tilling, disking, harrowing,
planting, and similar tasks.
History:
The first powered farm implements in the early 1800s were portable
engines – steam engines on wheels that could be used to drive
mechanical farm machinery by way of a flexible belt. Around
1850, the first traction engines were developed from these,
and were widely adopted for agricultural use.
Where soil conditions permitted, such as the US, steam tractors
were used to direct-haul ploughs, but in the UK, ploughing engines
were used for cable-hauled ploughing instead. Steam-powered agricultural
engines remained in use well into the 20th century, until reliable
internal combustion engines had been developed. In 1892, John
Froelich built the first practical gasoline-powered tractor in
Clayton County, Iowa. Only two were sold, and it was not until
1911, when the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company developed
the design, that it became successful.
In Britain, the first recorded tractor sale was the oil-burning
Hornsby-Ackroyd Patent Safety Oil Traction engine, in 1897. However,
the first commercially successful design was Dan Albone's three-wheel
Ivel tractor of 1902. In 1908, Saundersons of Bedford introduced
a four-wheel design, and went on to become the largest tractor
manufacturer outside the USA.
While unpopular at first, these gasoline-powered machines began
to catch on in the 1910s as they became smaller and more affordable.
Henry Ford introduced the Fordson, the first mass-produced tractor
in 1917. They were built in the U.S., Ireland, England and Russia
and by 1923, Fordson had 77% of the U.S. market. The Fordson dispensed
with a frame, using the strength of the engine block to hold the
machine together. By the 1920s, tractors with a gasoline-powered
internal combustion engine had become the norm.
The classic farm tractor is a simple open vehicle, with two very
large driving wheels on an axle below and slightly behind a single
seat (the seat and steering wheel consequently are in the center),
and the engine in front of the driver, with two steerable wheels
below the engine compartment. This basic design has remained unchanged
for a number of years, but enclosed cabs are fitted on almost
all modern models, for reasons of operator safety and comfort.
There are also lawn tractors. Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, John Deere,
Massey Ferguson and Toro are some of the better-known brands.
This article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the
Wikipedia article "Tractor".
Recommended Tractor Resources & Daily Tractor News:
- Inmate Escapes By Driving Off On Tractor (The Morning News)
VARNER -- Authorities are searching for an inmate serving a 40-year sentence for a drug conviction who drove off prison grounds on a tractor.
tractor 13 Oct 2008 - SPRINGDALE : Suit filed over tractor company purchase (NWAnews.com)
The longtime owner of Springdale Tractor Co. filed a lawsuit last week, claiming the buyer has failed to finalize an asset purchase agreement signed in March. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition)
tractor 13 Oct 2008 - Tractor company sale results in legal battle ! Baker seeks to regain control of four dealerships (NWAnews.com)
The longtime owner of the Springdale Tractor Company filed a lawsuit last week claiming the buyer has failed to finalize an asset purchase agreement signed in March. (Northwest Arkansas Times)
tractor 13 Oct 2008 - Antique truck, tractor display benefits pantry (Northwest Herald)
McHENRY ? The fourth Antique Truck, Tractor & Construction Equipment Show will rumble into McHenry 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to benefit the FISH Food Pantry of McHenry.
tractor 13 Oct 2008 - Geauga County: Community pulls together for Haas family with truck and tractor pull (WKYC Cleveland)
BURTON - Tim Haas died saving his father's life. Saturday, the 17-year-old's legacy will be celebrated with a benefit truck and tractor pull at the Geauga County Fairgrounds in Burton.
tractor 13 Oct 2008 - Man dies in tractor-trailer crash (The Charlotte Observer)
A 47-year-old Concord man died Friday when the cab from a tractor-trailer hit his car head-on near Concord Regional Airport. Brian Debarge of Adamshire Avenue was traveling south on Derita in a 2003 Kia sedan just before noon when he was struck by the cab, said Trooper Shane Furr with the N.C. Highway Patrol. Kelly Parker, 55, of Goodwin Circle in Mooresville, was driving the cab north on ...
tractor 13 Oct 2008 - I-70 shut down by crash for 7 hours (Rocky Mountain News)
Eastbound I-70 across Vail Pass reopened Sunday afternoon after a seven-hour shutdown because of a crash involving a tractor trailer and icy road conditions.
tractor 13 Oct 2008
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