The Aultman & Taylor Company
Dr. Lorin E. Bixler
The Debut of the Steam Engine and the Aultman & Taylor
Tractors
This issue of the Iron-Men Album bring us to the 10th
installment of Dr. Bixler's history of the Aultman & Taylor
Company, as edited by Dr. Robert T. Rhode. The Album is serializing
Dr. Bixler's book. Dr. Bixler, a professor at Muskingum College
in New Concord, Ohio, passed away before he could publish the
manuscript on which he had labored for many years. This installment
looks at the debut of the steam engine and the Aultman & Taylor
tractors.
CHAPTER 10
Allusion has already been made to the fact that the vibrator
thresher required a steady power that was impossible to secure with
the horse powers. Then, too, there arose in the major grain growing
areas of the country a demand for a larger separator, but
horsepower's were inadequate to operate those machines
efficiently.
Under the pressure of these demands the companies began to build
steam engines. At first portables then a few years later traction
engines came into general use.
In spite of the skepticism that prevailed among the farmers, the
demand for steam engines continued to grow apace. Among the first
manufacturers to recognize and meet that demand was C.&G.
Cooper Company of Mount Vernon, Ohio. During 1868-69 they built an
experimental traction engine that was steered by horses.
Keenly aware of the changing conditions of the time, the Aultman
& Taylor Manufacturing Company had no intention of permitting
other companies to preempt the market. They quickly came to the
realization that it would be necessary to build steam engines if
they were to remain in business.
Consequently, during 1876 they selected a portable engine that
was deemed the most perfect of all those proposed for their
consideration. The design of the Aultman & Taylor engine was
similar to that of the Cooper engine. They were built in 6 and 12
HP sizes and were mounted on horizontal boilers. The steam chest
was placed at the rear on the left side of the boiler with the
flywheel on the right side near the front of the engine. It was
mounted on wooden wheels and drawn by horses. It was named 'The
Aultman & Taylor Farm Engine.'
The Aultman & Taylor Manufacturing Company was not among the
first to produce traction engines but designed and built its first
traction engine during 1880.1 It was a bevel gear
engine, one of many of those engines built by the company and that
contributed significantly to the reputation and success of the firm
. The traction engine followed the same design as the portable
engine. The company continued to use this design until 1906. That
year they built only four of the engines so designed, and that was
the last year that they built them.2 Shortly before, the
firm had introduced a spur gear traction engine that differed
greatly from the bevel gear style and that proved quite successful.
The firm's building of bevel gear engines extended over a
period of 26 years. Aultman & Taylor built steam engines for a
period of 39 years.
1917 25 HP Aultman & Taylor #9202, owned by Lyle and Randy
Eckel. Photo taken by Dr. Robert T. Rhode at the annual National
Threshers Association Reunion, Wauseon, Ohio, June 24,1994.
The company's first self-propelled engines were known as the
'Aultman & Taylor Traction Engine' and were attractive
in appearance. After the very first traction engine was built and
having satisfied itself that it was superior to any on the market,
the company invited seven men to witness its operation and to
render a judgment with respect to its suitability for the purpose
for which it was built. The men were considered experts on steam
engines: E.S. Downey of Aurora, Ind.; Edward Smith of La Gro, Ind.;
C.F. Adams of Parkman, Ohio; Daniel Harmon of Fort Wayne, Ind.;
Oscar Adams of Parkman, Ohio; and R. R. Blair of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The men were requested to render an honest judgment relative to the
engine's merits. The engine was given a severe test, and the
group of carefully selected men recorded the following
judgment:
'The undersigned have each had a very wide and at the same
time intimate acquaintance with traction and self-propelling
engines in the market; have each of us sold them and operated them
and are practically familiar with them and can, without claiming
any unreasonable amount of shrewdness, say we are competent to give
an intelligent opinion on the subject, and think it will be safe
for all parties who intend buying traction or self-propelled
engines, or intend to sell traction engines to others, to accept
our judgment in the matter. While we wish cordially to admit the
merits of other traction engines, and while we do not criticize
other makes, nevertheless it is our unanimous opinion the
Aultman-Taylor traction engine is today the most perfect and
desirable in the American market. In every point and feature, the
Aultman-Taylor is at least abreast of the best, while in general
workmanship, neatness in detail and perfection in finish, we have
never seen its equal, and in some important points it is absolutely
without rivals:
'1. The two propelling-wheels are mechanically the most
perfect we have ever seen, and their height is such as to recommend
them over any in the market, and their location for sustaining the
weight of the engine and securing freedom of motion in bad roads
has never, to our knowledge, been equaled.
'2. The lugs rolled into the tire of these wheels by a
process secured to the Aultman & Taylor Company by letters of
patent, is far in advance of the pins usually used, and will be
found a great daily convenience in moving from place to place,
especially over bridges, where the objections to pins is
apparent.
'3. In the Aultman-Taylor traction engine the propelling
power is communicated directly from the main shaft to the rear
axle, thus entirely doing away with the supplemental shaft and
complicated gearing of the same, in use on all traction engines we
are acquainted with. How great this advantage is will at once be
understood by all who know anything about traction engines; to
others we would say, in this respect the Aultman-Taylor traction
engine has several distinct advantages: (a) simplicity; (b) economy
in fuel; (d) increased durability; (e) decreased weight; (f) ease
of management; (g) decreased liability to delays from breakage. We
should think these advantages would add at least $100 to the value
of the Aultman-Taylor traction engine.
'4. The Aultman-Taylor traction engine has what all others
lack, and what every traction engine should have, and that is a
simple, easily managed arrangement for reversing the motion and
propelling the engine backward as well as forward. In bad roads,
and especially when the roads are full of mud-holes, this really is
a prime necessity, and it is a feature we cannot praise too highly,
as many men will now feel free to buy traction engines who have
always refused to buy them because they feared in heavy roads they
might get 'stuck in the mud,' and being unable to get any
purchase by backing, would be greatly annoyed and delayed.
'The points named by us, taken in connection with the
general excellence of the Aultman-Taylor traction engine, are so
important as to lead us to say that, unquestionably, in our
opinion, this engine is worth to any purchaser more than any
traction engine in the market; and as it meets and overcomes all
the objections ever made to traction engines, it must find a very
general and, we cannot help but feel, an enormous demand.'
A team was used only to steer the engine, for it propelled
itself. The testimony of this group of men became a selling
gimmick. Such testimony given by a group of competent men whose
prestige was high carried considerable weight with prospective
customers and so became an effective instrument in selling the
engine.
The engine was propelled by an inclined shaft on the right-hand
side of the boiler extending from the crankshaft of the engine to
the rear axle and that was connected with large bevel gears. Hence
they became known as bevel gear engines. They also became popularly
known as the 'Sunflower Engine' since the large bevel gear
connected with the crankshaft resembled a sunflower. For many years
an exact model of this first engine was on display in the office of
the company .
Within a few years following the building of their first engine
a number of improvements were made, such as self-steering, the link
reverse, and iron wheels. With the rapid increase in the demand for
these engines it became necessary to construct additional shops
exclusively for the building of the Aultman & Taylor farm
engine and the Aultman & Taylor traction engine.
From the bending of the boiler plates to the painting of the
finished engine all of the work was done under one roof. Even at
that time there was a considerable amount of division of labor so
that the men who were responsible for certain jobs became competent
in those phases of engine building.
During the 1870s and 1880s, when the firm began building steam
engines, Aultman & Taylor enjoyed rapid expansion of its
business. In a typical year during those decades the company used
the following amounts of materials in the manufacture of threshing
machinery: molding sand, clay, etc., 50 railroad car loads; coal,
300 cars; oil and varnish, eight cars; sail and wire cloth, seven
cars; lumber, belting, etc., 507 cars; hardware, nine cars; and
iron, 326 cars. A total of 1,207 car loads of materials were used
during one year. It was stated that this number of cars would make
a train of 15 miles in length.
In 1878 the Aultman & Taylor Company was one of the largest
builders of threshing machinery in the country. From 1868 through
1880, with the exception of one year (1878), they were able to fill
all of the orders for their machinery. During those years they were
compelled to increase production several times to meet the demands
for their machinery. This was accomplished by working extra time
and by the enlargement of their working force.
Then, too, in order to achieve increased production it became
necessary to add extensions to their plant, such as shops,
warehouses, offices, and yards. These additions increased the total
area to 35 acres.
Another interesting set of figures portrays the magnitude of the
firm's business. In 1867 the company used $200 worth of postage
stamps while the firm's expenses for postage in 1880 were over
$5,000. It should be remembered that this was many years before any
increase in postage occurred.
The Tractors
The successful development of the gasoline automobile gave rise
to a demand for a gasoline tractor capable of replacing the steam
engine as a source of power. The first record of the Aultman &
Taylor Company's interest in the building of a tractor was
evidenced by action taken by the board of directors on July 1,
1906. At that meeting a committee was appointed, the members of
which were Arnold Kalmerten, James Reynolds, and G.W. Gans. That
committee was instructed to investigate the merits of a certain
patent for a gasoline engine in which Kalmerten was
interested.3 Apparently the idea of building an Aultman
& Taylor tractor had its origin in the mind of one man,
Kalmerten.
8 HP Aultman & Taylor owned by Vic Johnson. Photo taken by
Dr. Robert T. Rhode at the National Threshers Association Reunion
at Wauseon, Ohio, June 29, 1996.
The committee was empowered to formulate a plan for adoption, if
the committee were to deem it advisable to build and sell such a
gasoline engine, or tractor. The committee was invested with the
power to act, and so no report of the committee was ever made to
the board of directors. However, later events show that the
committee must have considered the plan to have had merit and so
proceeded to act. Yet, four years elapsed following the appointment
of the committee before the company's first tractor was built.
It was manufactured during 1910, sold, and shipped to Fargo, S.D.,
where it was tested.4
16 HP Aultman & Taylor # 9300 owned by John W. Griffeth.
Photo taken by Dr. Robert T. Rhode at the Tuscarawas Valley Pioneer
Power Association Show at Dover, Ohio, Aug. 16, 1997.
The firm's first tractor, Number 1, nicknamed 'Old
Trusty,' was sold by F.W. Galland on July 4, 1910. By 1920 that
tractor had plowed 10,000 acres and was used for threshing each
fall. It was still running well in 1920.5
Following the testing of that tractor, the company placed its
tractors on the market. In 1910 the executive committee of the
board of directors was authorized to build in lots of 25 from time
to time as the conditions of the trade required. The records do not
show the number of tractors that the company built each year.
However, the executive committee was authorized to build 160 in
1915, 224 in 1916, and 300 in 1917. A fair estimate of the total
number of tractors built would be approximately 4,500. The firm
produced more tractors in the 30-60 size than in any of the other
sizes.
Company catalogs stated: 'Our motors are built for
heavy-duty service; are of the 4-cylin-der, 4-cycle type, cylinders
are cast in pairs and arranged parallel and in horizontal position.
Being cast in pairs, the weight is lessened, perfect water
circulation provided, greater rigidity with fewer joints secured by
bolts and a simple water and carburetor connection.'
The firm claimed, 'With the drop forge cam shaft used in
Aultman & Taylor tractor motors, the timing is fixed before
leaving the factory and will practically never need
adjusting.'
Catalogs also said, 'All Aultman-Taylor tractors are
provided with both battery and magneto. Battery consists of 10 No.
6 dry cells arranged in two series.' The company stated,
'The speed of our motors is automatically controlled by a
fly-ball governor, placed intact in the crankcase, driven by a gear
off the cam shaft. The speed may be varied from 125 to 500
revolutions per minute on 25-50 and 30-60 sizes, and from 125 to
600 revolutions on 18-36, by simply moving a
lever.'6
The firm's catalogs said, 'We wish to call your
attention to our valve-in-head construction. This construction
insures maximum power and efficiency, with a minimum consumption of
fuel. The valves are easily removed by pressing down on the spring
and removing the pin after cylinder heads have been removed. A cap
holds the pin in position, preventing its loss or removal except by
compressing the spring. The valve rods have a ball on one end that
fits in a socket in the upper end of rocker arm.'
The firm stated, 'The cylinders are cast from a mixture of
semi-steel of a special chemical analysis so that they will wear
smooth and hard as glass. Contrast this with soft-coarse grained
cast iron as used by many other tractor builders. The cylinder
heads are cast in pairs, and secured to the cylinders by heavy stud
bolts provided with copper asbestos gaskets. These heads can be
readily and easily removed to clean out carbon deposits in
combustion chambers. To secure best results from an internal
combustion engine, carbon deposits must not be permitted.'
The 30-60 achieved immediate success and was specially adapted
to the needs of large farms. It was capable of pulling eight to 12
plows and operated the largest thresher built.
During the season of 1918 the company announced a new and
smaller size, a 15-30 HP tractor. It was designed for the 200-acre
farm and was the smallest tractor that the company built. With it
they hoped to satisfy the demand for a small tractor, as well as to
meet the competition from other companies that had placed small
tractors on the market. While it may have been a good tractor, it
did not capture the market and was not as popular as were several
other tractors of that period. It was capable of pulling four
14-inch plows. The company's 1920 and later catalogs stated
that the 15-30 tractor could handle the firm's 27-inch New
Century separator fully equipped. No figures are available as to
the number of that size tractor that they built, but it is probably
fair to state that it was fewer than any of the other sizes
The firm's tractors received considerable favorable
publicity as a result of the records they made in tests,
particularly those staged at Winnipeg, Fremont, and Lincoln. In
1912 the company's tractors were submitted to tests at Winnipeg
and were proved to be superior. At the Fremont Power Demonstration
in 1917, Aultman & Taylor tractors pulled one 14-inch plow
seven inches deep for each 3 HP drawbar rating. It was claimed that
the Aultman & Taylor tractors at that demonstration showed
approximately 20 percent greater efficiency than any of the other
tractors entered.
Then in 1919 Nebraska enacted a law that any company that sold a
tractor in Nebraska was required to submit that tractor to tests.
Those tests were conducted on the state fairgrounds at Lincoln
during the latter part of June and the early part of July in 1920.
The description of those tests is presented in considerable detail
in a statement written by W.H. Worthington, who was the
company's chief engineer: 'In the early part of last year
(1919), Nebraska put into effect a law designed to encourage the
manufacture and use of improved types of tractors, and to
contribute to their more successful adoption for farm purposes, and
at the same time to protect the farmer against untrue and unfair
claims regarding any tractor offered for sale. In order to check
the claims and statements made by the manufacturer, it was decided
that a stock tractor of each model sold within the state should be
tested and passed upon by a board of engineers under the management
of the state university.
'The test on each tractor was run in seven parts as follows:
First, each tractor was given a running in or limbering up period
of 12 hours on a dirt track, during which time it pulled a load
ranging from one-third to its full rated drawbar horsepower.
Second, the tractor was taken indoors and belted to a Sprague
electric dynamometer where it carried its rated belt load at rated
speed for two hours. Following the rated load run on the belt was,
third, a one hour variable load test wherein the tractor developed
from no load to full load, and, fourth, one hour run at one-half
rated load, followed by, fifth, a one hour maximum load run with
the governor wide open. After having passed these indoor tests, the
tractor was taken to the cinder testing track where the sixth part
of the test was applied by causing it to pull its rated drawbar
load for a period of 10 hours. This rated drawbar run was
immediately followed by, seventh, a maximum load test which
consisted of a series of short runs with increased load for each
run until the engine was either overloaded or the drive wheel
slipped excessively. The drawbar horsepower of the tractor was
measured by means of an electric dynamometer car especially
designed and built by the university for the running of these
tests. The draft of this car could be changed at will with a
maximum limit of 5,000 pounds so that any desired load could be
applied and maintained. A regular Gulley traction dynamometer was
built into the hitch of this car in such a way that the exact pull
of the tractor in pounds, together with the number of feet
traveled, could be measured and recorded.
'Until such time as a tractor could be tested, the
manufacturer was granted a temporary permit to sell tractors
subject to the results of the tests. As a result, some 93 tractors
were offered for test, and the work of testing them at the
university began early this spring.
'Owing to the fact that a number of tractor manufacturers
who were entered previous to ourselves were unable to get their
tractors ready for the tests at the appointed time, we entered
ahead of our turn. Our tractors were shipped the early part of
June, arriving at Lincoln Saturday night, the 26th, when Mr. Hoig
of the Lincoln branch wired us and immediately Mr. Cedarburg and
myself went out there to arrange the tests.
'It was necessary for us to run the tractors out to the
state grounds some three miles from the center of the city before
bolting on the lugs. As a result of the delay, we did not get the
first tractor started on the limbering up run until Wednesday
morning, the 30th. During the entire time of the tests, there were
always delays due to rains and other unavoidable happenings, so
that we were nearly three weeks making the entire series of runs,
which, however, were successfully completed without any especially
exciting event, except that our 30-60 first broke the spring in the
traction dynamometer, tore the 10-inch belt down about 40 feet of
its length. There were no casualties suffered by this accident,
although one of the testers came very nearly being spanked to
death.
'The following excellent performance of our several
tractors, as taken from the official reports, speak for
themselves:
15-30 Tractor Maximum horsepower on the belt, 34.37
Maximum drawbar horsepower, 21.19
22-45 Tractor Maximum horsepower on the belt, 46.66
Maximum drawbar horsepower low gear, 28.10
Maximum drawbar horsepower high gear, 25.58
30-60 Tractor Maximum horsepower on the belt on kerosene,
75.49
Maximum horsepower on the belt on gasoline, 80.10
Maximum drawbar horsepower on kerosene, 55.35
Maximum drawbar horsepower on gasoline, 58.05
'To give us enough load during the maximum test of the
30-60, we pulled, in addition to the dynamometer car, an Avery
18-36, our own 22-45 with clutch in and the engine turning, two
stone boats, each loaded to 1,500 pounds weight, and a pair of
heavy rolls with concrete. The entire load made quite a dignified
looking procession, and caused no end of comment. At the time this
test was run, the track was covered with dust to the depth of over
three inches, but owing to the design of the lug equipment used on
our drive wheels slippage was but 4.3 percent, which established a
new low slippage record for this track. It is interesting to note
that our 30-60 is the most powerful tractor tested by the
university.
'There is, of course, a very considerable degree of
opposition to these tests among manufacturers whose tractors do not
come up to their ratings, but there are a good many, who, like
ourselves, really build tractors capable of satisfactorily doing
everything claimed by them, who welcome this opportunity of getting
an official test on so scientific and unvarying a basis.
'The university authorities, while obliged to live up to the
absolute letter of the law in these tests, nevertheless were
extremely courteous and obliging at all times and did everything in
their power to secure the best results possible. Except in the
limbering up run, our tractors were operated entirely by the
university engineers, and neither Mr. Cedarburg nor myself were
permitted to make any adjustments whatsoever.
'We really feel that our tractors made an enviable record,
especially in view of the Winnipeg contests which were held eight
years ago in which our 30-60 tractor made a medal winning
performance. However, we find at this time it developed but 61.2
horsepower on kerosene and 73.4 horsepower on gasoline, and did not
have to pull the radiator fans, which consumes at least three
horsepower. Furthermore, an allowance of 7 percent for belt
slippage was made at Winnipeg, whereas no such credit was given at
Lincoln, all of which shows that the performance of our tractor has
been continually improved. This bettering of past performances,
however, indicates the trend of the industry in general.
Nevertheless, it is gratifying to feel that we are maintaining the
lead that it has always been our privilege to
assume.'7
In light of Worthington's excellent report on the tractor
tests at Lincoln, one can understand the confidence and pride,
which the company displayed in its tractors. It was a rare
privilege for those who witnessed the tractors performing under the
severest and most rigid kinds of tests that it was possible to
devise at that time. Small wonder then that the Aultman &
Taylor tractors received wide acclaim and became a favorite among
many users!
As a young man, Herbert C. Rupp was employed as a service man
for the International Harvester Company and covered the
northwestern states, including Minnesota and the Dakotas. The
following incident occurred near Bismarck, N.D. A group of men were
threshing with an Avery tractor that was giving them trouble, and
Rupp was asked to rectify it. He rode from Bismarck with a minister
in a Model T Ford. When they approached the farm, Rupp remarked to
the minister that one of the valves in the tractor was not
working.
The men were Germans, and, while Rupp worked on the tractor,
they engaged in conversation in the German language. One of them
remarked, 'If this young fellow can't fix this tractor, we
will kick his as_ out of here.' Presently they began talking
about the Ford and inquired as to how many cylinders it had. Rupp
replied in German. They were highly embarrassed by the fact that
the young fellow had understood every word that they uttered.
Rupp fixed it, and the man in charge offered him $10 per day, if
he would stay with them and keep the tractor running. His reply was
'no,' since he was working for IHC. Then the separator man
said, 'I'm getting $6 per day, and I'll give you a
dollar a day in addition to the $10 because, if you are not here,
we will lose much more than that in delay.'
Rupp then called his boss at IHC and related the circumstances.
His reply was, 'Herb, if you don't take care of yourself,
no one else will. You go ahead and help them out.' So he worked
for them at eleven dollars per day and long enough to earn $400 or
$500. With that money in his pocket he went to Highland Park
College in Des Moines, Iowa, and completed his engineering
education.
He went to Mansfield in 1919 and was employed by the Aultman
& Taylor Machinery Company as a designing engineer. He assumed
a major role in the development of the carburetor for the
company's tractors. It was so designed as to save fuel . About
that time the company employed E.L. Brunger as Works Manager and
placed him in charge of the engineering department in spite of the
fact that Worthington was the chief engineer. Brunger had been an
employee of the Advance-Rumely Company . He was a disappointment,
and the Advance-Rumely Company was delighted to get rid of him.
Brunger attempted to model the Aultman & Taylor 15-30
tractor similarly to the Rumely Oil Pull. Rupp was of the opinion
that the frame of their tractors should have been made straight
instead of having a curvature. As a result of Brunger's
experimentation, the company lost the whole year of 1917 testing
that tractor. When it was finally built, Rupp tried it out, plowing
for sixty days, and at the end of that time the differential broke.
It was not until about 1920 that the company overcame the problems.
Rupp stated that many of the tractors that they sold during
1917-1919 were defective and that wherever they sold one they never
sold another one. In the meantime the Fordson was placed on the
market, and Aultman & Taylor lost its
trade.'8
In all fairness it must be emphasized that the preceding
discussion represents Rupp's opinions, but, since he occupied a
prominent position in the building of Aultman & Taylor
tractors, they cannot be dismissed lightly.
Aultman & Taylor tractors proved to be successful, and the
company was numbered among the leaders in the building of tractors.
Due credit should be accorded to the officials of the company for
being alert to the requirements of that bygone day.
Notes
1. In Chapter 12 Dr. Bixler says that Joe Rynda's
wooden-wheel, bevel gear Aultman & Taylor traction engine was
built in 1877. Dr. Bixler gives the date as 1878 in a caption
accompanying a photograph of Rynda's engine. These dates
conflict with Dr. Bixler's statement that the first Aultman
& Taylor traction engines were produced in 1880.
2. At one point Dr. Bixler says that four bevel gear
engines were built in 1906, but in another place Dr. Bixler says
that five bevel gear engines were constructed in that final year of
production of bevel gear engines.
3. The term 'gasoline engine' as used in this
connection and in the board's deliberations refers to a tractor
and probably is used in contrast with the term 'steam
engine.'
4. Record Book, Minutes of the Meetings of the Stockholders
and Directors of the Aultman & Taylor Machinery Company.
5. The Rooster,September 1920. 2.
6. Aultman & Taylor catalogs, 1910-1923.
7. The Rooster, August 1920. 12.
8. Interview with Herbert Rupp.