Rumely Oil Pull Tractor, 20-40

Object Details

Advance Rumely Company

assembler

Miller, Ronald E.

Description

In 1923, John Ploesch purchased this Rumely Oil Pull tractor for $4,000 from an Advance-Rumely dealer in Woodbine, Illinois. He arranged with neighbors to thresh their crops, organizing what was called a threshing ring that lasted until 1948. The Rumely Oil Pull was belted to the threshing machine that separated the grain. Threshing became a major social event for farmers, laborers, and their families.

The Rumely Oil Pull was the first tractor to use an oil cooling system, which kept the engine at a steady temperature no matter how heavy the tractor's load. The cooling system allowed hotter cylinders and easier ignition. The Oil Pull starts on gas but runs on kerosene, making it much lighter and easier to maneuver than its steam-driven predecessors. This Rumely Oil Pull weighs seven tons.

Rumely engineers also made space for an extra person in the tractor's cab, gave the operator a clear view in every direction, and placed all the mechanisms--gear shift, clutch, foot brake, steering wheel, carburetor, and more--in easy reach. These new design elements helped the Rumely Oil Pull to surpass most old kerosene tractors, and many of these features were further refined in gasoline-powered machines.

Because of their hot-riveted steel frame construction, Rumely Oil Pulls lasted through years of harvests. Some were still in use as late as the 1960s.

Credit Line

Gift of Wayman Cobine

1923

ID Number

1988.0372.01

catalog number

1988.0372.01

accession number

1988.0372

Object Name

tractor, rumely oil-pull, model g, 20-40hp

Physical Description

cast iron (overall material)

steel (overall material)

wood (overall material)

green (overall color)

red (overall color)

yellow (overall color)

white (overall color)

Measurements

average spatial: 108 in x 89 in x 175 in; 274.32 cm x 226.06 cm x 444.5 cm

place made

United States: Indiana, LaPorte

United States: Illinois, Geneseo

See more items in

Work and Industry: Agriculture

Agriculture

National Museum of American History

Record ID

nmah_1083828

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-da00-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa