Case Tractors
J. I. Case Co., the third largest Tractor manufacturer in the United States, was incorporated in 1880 as the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co. In 1929 the name was changed to its present one. The business was originally established by Jerome I. Case in 1842. The J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co. was actively engaged in the building of steam tractors in the 1890's and was among the first to turn to the gasoline tractor. In 1912 the plant at Racine, Wis., was enlarged to permit starting tractor production purchasing engines from the Davis Motor Co., Milwaukee, Wis. In 1913 they started building their own engines. In 1919 the company merged with the Grand Detour Plow Co. and in 1928 the Case Co. purchased the implement plant of the Emerson-Framingham Corp. of Rockford, Ill. At this time the J. I. Case Plow Co. of Racine was taken over by the Massey-Harris Co. of Toronto. It sold the rights to use of the name "Case" and "J. I. Case" to the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co. of Racine. In 1842 the inventor Jerome I. Case, who was a threshing machine manufacturer, founded the J.I. Case Company. In 1869 his company built its first portable steam engine and in 1878 they built their first steam traction engine. In those early days the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company ofRacine, Wisconsin, was known as "the threshing machine king," but few would argue it wasn't also king of the steam engine By 1892 Case had produced an experimental gasoline traction engine but it was not until twenty years later that the firm's first production gas tractor, the 30/60, was offered. right1912 also saw the release of the 20/40, left The company produced the tractor till 1916 Acknowledging the demand for less-expensive, smaller tractors, Case introduced the smaller more maneuverable 12-25 tractor in 1914 and the three-wheel 10-20 tractor in 1915. bottom The most popular early Case gas tractors were the Crossmotor series which were introduced in 1916 in the Model 9-18. They had transversely mounted engines and a solid appearance. Case built thousands of successful Crossmotors. In 1929 the Crossmotors were followed by the Model L which was available in standard and industrial configurations; and the identical, but smaller, Model C, that was available in standard, row-crop, industrial, orchard, vineyard, cane and high-clearance configurations. The L and C were the first Case tractors with three speeds forward. Case introduced the Model RC, a row-crop tractor in 1935. This model was followed by the standard Model R in 1938. The Case Company came out with a completely new line of Case tractors in 1939. The streamlined R Series was painted a torch-flame color. The Flambeau Red Series offered great visibility, optional electric starting and lighting as well as four speeds forward. A new one-plow tractor the V Series, was available in standard, row-crop, industrial, and orchard configurations. A smaller version of the D, the S Series, replaced the R Series in 1941and The standard Model LA replaced the L.