1892 Horse-Drawn Pull Grader

1892 Horse-Drawn Pull Grader. . , With thanks and appreciation to Pete and Yvonne Doerfer for loaning the following items: For display only - please do not climb on this equipment., 1892 Horse-Drawn Pull Grader , J.D. Adams invented the first successful leaning-wheel pull grader in 1885, which he called the “Little Wonder”. It was a small, two-wheeled contraption with a blade set at a fixed angle, capable of angling its wooden wheels to one side. Though he had no formal training as an engineer, Adams’s machine was a massive technological advance in the process of road building and maintenance. The initial model was intended to be pulled by a team of horses or mules., Suddenly all other road grader manufacturers were using Adams’ “leaning wheel principle” in their devices. The success of the Little Wonder led the way for the introduction of Adams’ “Road King” model in 1896. The Road King was a four-wheel all-steel grader with an eight-foot blade and wheels capable of leaning in either direction. It could be pulled by a team of horses, or mules or adapted for towing by steam engine., Business was brisk and by the 1890s Adams had established a production company to make graders and steel highway bridges. The company later expanded their line of road building machinery to include elevating graders, sheepsfoot rollers, dozers, grader attachments, pull and rotary scrapers, force-feed loaders, and welding equipment. Though the Adams Company headquartered in Indianapolis, it eventually grew to include a Canadian affiliate (J.D. Adams Ltd.) with offices in Ontario and Manitoba., J.D.’s brothers, William and Roy Adams, took over the business and ran it together until 1940, when William died. After 1940, Roy continued to control the bulk of the business with the help of the company’s board of directors. In 1955, J.D. Adams and Company became a division of Letourneau-Westinghouse, and at that time, ceased manufacturing products., 1928 McCormick Deering 15-30 Gear-Drive Tractor , Pete Doerfer’s father brought this tractor to the valley for use on the farm. This tractor was built by the International Harvester Company of Chicago from 1921 to 1934 in the Milwaukee Works Factory. An improvement and time saver over horse drawn equipment, this tractor introduced “power farming” to Mancos Valley farmers. Original models would have had a grey body and red wheels., In 1922 the revolutionary 3-plow International 15-30 Gear Drive was renamed the McCormick Deering 15-30. In early 1923 it was International Harvester’s only tractor model as the 2-plow International 8-16, 3-plow Titan 10-20, and 4-plow International 15-30 chain drive became discontinued to be badged as an International, or as Deering, or McCormick. Throughout the production run the nickname 15-30 became ever popular and commonly known with farmers across most regions, especially throughout the States and Canada., In 1929 the 15-30 engine was given a ¼” larger bore, increasing displacement to 425.3 ci, and higher rpm, 1,050, to increase the power output to 40.7 belt and 30.1 drawbar. In export markets the revised model was usually called the 22-36 and it is frequently referred to as that in such regions as Britain. Although in the US the model and serial number plate continued under the name 15-30, for exports a different type of serial number plate was applied and stamped as 22-36. Instead of the usual “15-30 Tractor No.”, these plates used a basic “Model” and alongside it “Serial No.” and stamping boxes underneath each. As from 1929,, the model printed in these stamping boxes became 22-36.