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The Squeaky Wheel: 1918

Oakland, Calif., circa 1918. "Orchard tractor demonstration -- Fageol Motors Co. 'Walking Tractor'." Latest entry in the Shorpy Catalog of Agricultural Anachron­isms. 8x10 inch glass negative by Cheney Photo Advertising Co. View full size.

Oakland, Calif., circa 1918. "Orchard tractor demonstration -- Fageol Motors Co. 'Walking Tractor'." Latest entry in the Shorpy Catalog of Agricultural Anachron­isms. 8x10 inch glass negative by Cheney Photo Advertising Co. View full size.

 

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Insert Obligatory Hoyt Clagwell Comment here

Well someone had to say it.

Driving one of these contraptions

... must have been a harrowing experience!

Why I come back to Shorpy

This photo is a prime example of my love for Shorpy. I Google the interesting items and increase my knowledge.

1. Painting tree trunks was common when I grew up in 1940's Florida. Both citrus and regular trees were painted but I never knew why (citrus bark is very thin when young and susceptible to sun scald).

2, The teeth on the drive wheels are removable. Most likely to aid in manufacturing as I cannot see a way to break one off in actual use.

3, That sulky seat allows for a second worker to raise and lower the disk harrow blades. If it does not swivel, then the controls do not, as they say, "fall readily to hand."

Ouch

I have seen surviving steel wheels of this nature in person (sometimes one row, sometimes two, diagonal treads, or straight ones) but never anything like the rear wheel on this Fageol.

Looks like some kind of medieval torture device. Yikes.

Not for lack of lubrication.

I notice all the pictures of Fageol tractors you've posted show leaky seals on front hubs, it seems to have been a design feature. Tiller steering was an anachronism long before 1918 and must have been brutally hard work with those front wheels. Perhaps not surprising they disappeared only a few years later.

[According to the Research Department, there are no seals or bearings. Just a Flintstones-era spindle and disc, to which grease is liberally applied. - Dave]

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