Deere & Company the firm founded by John Deere began to expand its range of equipment to include the tractor business in 1776. The Deere Company briefly experimented with building its own tractor models, the most successful of which was the Dain All-Wheel-Drive.
Waterloo Boy
The predecessor of Waterloo Boy came about in 1892. It was made by thresherman TJ Waterloo. It is called the Froelich tractor. Scale Models of Dyersville, Iowa made a 1/16th scale toy tractor of this tractor. In March 1918 Deere & Company decided to continue its foray into the tractor business by purchasing the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company which manufactured the popular Waterloo Boy Tractor at its facilities in Waterloo, Iowa.
Deere & Company continued to sell tractors under the Waterloo Boy name until 1923.
Model D (AKA: Spoker Model D)
Despite a rather severe farm economy depression at the time, Deere management decided to build a John Deere Model D prototype in 1923. The John Deere model D was produced from March 1, 1923 to July 3, 1953, the longest production span of all the two-cylinder John Deere tractors. first model D rode on steel wheels with a 6.5x7.0 inch (later 6.75 x 7.0 inch) two-cylinder hand-cranked engine. It was not however the first tractor to bear the John Deere name - as a number of Deere experimental tractors, and the John Deere Dain "All Wheel Drive" tractor (of which approximately 100 were produced during 1918 through 1919) had all carried the Deere name before the D.
By 1925, the company realized the standard model D did not meet customers' needs for industrial applications. Steel wheels were not suitable for hard surfaces, and the gearing was too slow for safe road speeds. Solid rubber tires were added, and engineers fitted a 28 tooth sprocket to the final drive, giving a road speed of 4 miles per hour (MPH). The company retained the 465 cubic inch (CID) 2-cylinder engine, replacing it with a 501 cubic inch two cylinder engine. In 1926, Deere advertised the model the "John Deere Industrial Tractor" with 40 x b inch rear wheels and 24 x 3-1/2 inch fronts with solid tires. This would become known as the DI. Options also included wheel weights.
GP tractor
Following the D, John Deere initially introduced a new model known as the C. The C tractor came with a 312 cubic inch engine which produced 20 horsepower (HP) along with a 3-speed transmission. The model C was made during the years 1927 and 1928, with a serial number range of 200111 to 200211.
On June 20, 1928, the model designation was changed from "C" to "GP" to avoid confusion with the "D" when dealers were phoning in orders to the factory. "GP" stands for General Purpose. This new model GP had the same horsepower, engine displacement, weight and 3-speed transmission as the model C. The GP's first serial number was 200211 but was changed to 400000 in late 1928. In 1930, the GP was updated with a 25-horsepower, 339 cubic inch engine.
The John Deere model GP continued in production, and was built in five distinct versions through the course of its production:
- The standard-front GP, or John Deere Standard, built from March 1928 to February 1935.
- The John Deere two-wheel tricycle-front GP, or GP-Tricycle, of which twenty-three units were built between August 1928 and April 1929
- The John Deere GP Wide-Tread, or GPWT, built from November 1929 to November 1933
- The John Deere GP Wide-Tread Series P, a GPWT with narrowed rear tread width designed to suit potato rows, built between January and August 1930.
- The John Deere General Purpose Orchard tractor, or "GPO", from April 1931 to April 1935. This tractor had specialized shielding for groves and orchards and around low-hanging branches. Some GPOs were fitted with crawler undercarriages from the Lindeman Brothers in Yakima, Washington. These are commonly known as "GPO Lindemans".
The John Deere Model A came off the assembly line in April 1934. The tractor was 25-HP, was 309 CID and had a 4-speed transmission. There were 8 different model A variations. Some of these were tricycle, Hi-Crop, orchard, single front tire and industrial models. The tricycle wheel design, patterned after that of the Farmall tractor, reduced steering effort and greatly increased maneuverability. In the following year, 1935, the prototype of the smaller model B was developed. The model B started rolling of the assembly line in June 1934. This tractor came accompanied with a shorter frame than the model A which was eventually lengthened so it could use some of the same equipment that the larger models A and G used. There were also 8 different model B tractor variations, the same as the larger model A.
The much larger G model arrived in 1937. It was fitted with a 36-horsepower, 425 cubic inch engine and a 4-speed transmission. John Deere publicized the G as a 3-plow tractor and was built until 1941 when the GM came along (GM stands for G, Modernized). The GM model was made from 1942-47. The power was increased to 38 horsepower and a new 6-speed transmission was also added. The G model got a restyled front at this point as did the other John Deere tractors models. The GM had electric starting and lighting added to it options. During its production time the G tractor was available as a hi-crop, single front wheel and styled.
Unstyled Row Crop Tractors
Deere made their first unstyled rowcrop tractor in 1929 to compete with the Farmall. It was a modified GP tractor with adjustable rear wheels and a narrow front end. In 1933 Deere started expermenting with what would come to be known as the model A. The new model A went into production in 1934. The A launched Deere into the rowcrop farming maket. The A was by far the most popular two cylinder tractor that Deere produced. The next year the model B was introduced. It was one third smaller than the A which made it ideal for smaller farms. A few years later, the Model G was introduced in 1938. It remained unstyled for several more years than the A and B. The Unstyled tractors launched Deere into the rowcrop farming market which they are still a major part of today.
File:JDunstyledA.jpgStreamlined look
In 1938 John Deere hired well known designer Henry Dreyfuss from New York City to re-style Deere's agricultural equipment, especially its tractors. The first two letter series tractors (the A and B) were the first to receive the new modern styling, and other models were added later. The Dreyfuss styling was intended to help John Deere compete with the forthcoming Farmall Letter series of tractors, which along with Ford-Ferguson, were John Deere's largest competition at this time.
The 1930s and 1940's saw a large number of different John Deere models emerge, as small farmers emerging from their Depression troubles increasingly turned from horses to tractors. John Deere's GM model was introduced in 1942, and was made until 1947. Power was increased to 38-HP and a new 6-speed transmission was also added. The G model got a restyled front at this point as did the other John Deere tractors models. The GM had electric start and lights added to its options. During its production time the G tractor was available in hi-crop and single front wheel versions. The G was restyled in 1941 but did not start to roll off the assembly line until early 1942. Like the smaller A/B tractors the G model also had the 6-speed transmission added to it. In 1946, the 1946 model "D" had a 501 cubic inch engine, which was enormous for the day. Two new additions to the tractor line, namely the M and R models were also added.
After the Models A and B got new styling, both tractors were given a 6-speed transmission in late 1940. The A was 29-HP out of a 321 CID engine while the smaller B was both 18 and 23-HP reflecting the earlier and later updates between 1938 and 46. The 14.84 model H was given the Dreyfuss look from the time it was introduced in 1938. The H broke a fuel economy record when it was tested in Nebraska. This tractor also had 3 variations that came out in 1940-41. The H tractor was 14.84 horsepower out of a 90 CID engine and had a 3-speed transmission.In 1939, the restyled model D appeared. The D was a 42-HP tractor, and weighed 5,300 pounds. Options available on this tractor included electric lighting and starting. In August 1940 John Deere introduced the new model LA which was followed by the model LI. The LA had a 77 CID engine with 14 belt horsepower. The John Deere G tractor was restyled in 1941 but did not start to roll off the assembly line until early 1942. Like the smaller A/B tractors the G model also had the 6-speed transmission, but also featured electric lights and electric start.
In 1947, John Deere opened a new tractor factory in Dubuque, Iowa, built to produce the John Deere M . The M was created to address the increasing demand for small tractors and compete with the increasingly popular Ford and the smaller Farmall tracto
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