Here at White’s tractors, we like to occasionally take a break from the serious stuff of agriculture and farming. It’s good to sometimes think about the lighter things in life.
For example, today it’s common to think of tractors as powerful high-tech devices that are invaluable in our day-to-day work. Did you know though that had you been at the cutting-edge of agriculture in the 19th century, you may well have been using a tractor that was steam-powered?
Now the origin of tractors is one of those things that historians will dispute for hours over a drink or two and also get very hot under the collar about it. For example, in the United States they will regularly claim to have more or less invented the steam tractor in the 1870s but that unfortunately overlooks certain of its precursors.
So, while some American authors will claim that steam tractors made their first appearance in the world in USA around 1870/80, that really ignores the fact that steam powered vehicles were rolling around the countryside in the UK, for example, from around 1850.
Those first machines, whether in Europe or the U.S., were veritable monsters. Weighing many tons and dwarfing today’s Kubota tractors, they were fired by either coal or wood and proved to be deeply unpopular - particularly in Europe. The problem was that Northern European soils were typically more inclined to waterlogging, meaning that the great iron beasts simply sank into the mud!
In fact, it’s possible to have a debate as to whether these earliest tractors were tractors at all. Some people prefer to use the term ‘light road engine’ instead to signify that they were seen largely as a way of hauling heavy things from one place to another.
By the late 19th century, they were already in danger of being replaced by gasoline-driven models and by the 1920s and 1930s the great steam tractors had largely made their way to the museums or scrap yards.
Today there are seen as beautiful if slightly impractical things though if you have enough money, you might be able to buy one and try it on your own farm. Just make sure that you have plenty of coal and wood around!
For example, today it’s common to think of tractors as powerful high-tech devices that are invaluable in our day-to-day work. Did you know though that had you been at the cutting-edge of agriculture in the 19th century, you may well have been using a tractor that was steam-powered?
Now the origin of tractors is one of those things that historians will dispute for hours over a drink or two and also get very hot under the collar about it. For example, in the United States they will regularly claim to have more or less invented the steam tractor in the 1870s but that unfortunately overlooks certain of its precursors.
So, while some American authors will claim that steam tractors made their first appearance in the world in USA around 1870/80, that really ignores the fact that steam powered vehicles were rolling around the countryside in the UK, for example, from around 1850.
Those first machines, whether in Europe or the U.S., were veritable monsters. Weighing many tons and dwarfing today’s Kubota tractors, they were fired by either coal or wood and proved to be deeply unpopular - particularly in Europe. The problem was that Northern European soils were typically more inclined to waterlogging, meaning that the great iron beasts simply sank into the mud!
In fact, it’s possible to have a debate as to whether these earliest tractors were tractors at all. Some people prefer to use the term ‘light road engine’ instead to signify that they were seen largely as a way of hauling heavy things from one place to another.
By the late 19th century, they were already in danger of being replaced by gasoline-driven models and by the 1920s and 1930s the great steam tractors had largely made their way to the museums or scrap yards.
Today there are seen as beautiful if slightly impractical things though if you have enough money, you might be able to buy one and try it on your own farm. Just make sure that you have plenty of coal and wood around!
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