Russell Jr. Road Grader

When I saw the Russell name cast into the gears on this pull grader I assumed it was another product of the C. M. Russell Company of Massillon, Ohio, makers of steam engines, among other things. As it turns out however, the only thing the Russell Grader Manufacturing Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota had in common was the name Russell.

In 1903 Richard Russell and C. K. Stockland formed a company specifically to build a horse drawn road grader in Stephen, Minnesota. They soon relocated their factory to Minneapolis, Minn. and expanded their line of road grading equipment but as far as I have been able to determine road graders were the only product they manufactured.

During the twenty-five years of its existence the company produced a range of graders to meet a variety of needs. The Russell JR. fell somewhere in the middle of the product line between the Mogul with a twelve foot blade and intended for use with a 25 HP tractor and the Russell Gem, equipped with a five foot blade operated by one man and pulled by two horses. 

In an advertisement in the North Carolina Highway Bulletin Vol. 2 , The state distributor for Russell graders , E. F. Craven of Greensboro, NC. “ The Road Machinery Man” wrote: “ For those who are willing to put four horses and two men on the grader, the Russell JR will do maintaining work more effectively than any other grader. This machine has a 6 foot blade and may be used for light road construction as well as maintenance work.”   

Russell catalogs and sales brochures from the period also included : the Russell Reliance with a 10 ft. blade, intended for use with a 20 hp. Tractor, the Russell Special an 8 foot machine paired with a 15 hp tractor, the Russell Standard with a 7 ft. 3” blade for use with eight horses or an 8 to 15 hp. Tractor, the Russell Hi-Way Patrol a 6’ machine for 2 horses and one man operation,and  the Russell Kid, another 2 horse machine. 

1920 saw the introduction of a self propelled grader they called the Motor Patrol. This machine consisted of an Allis-Chalmers tractor with a grader frame built around it. In 1926 Russell built a crawler version of the Motor Patrol that used a Caterpillar tractor as the power source.

In 1928 Caterpillar Tractor Co. acquired Russell Manufacturing and incorporated it into a Road Machinery Division that built road grading equipment. 1931 saw the introduction of the Auto Patrol  model, described as being the first of the modern graders. 

The grader shown in these pictures is on display at the Polk County Museum at 60 Walker St. in Columbus, NC. just a few blocks down Hwy. 108 from Interstate 26. For more information about the museum visit: www.polknchistory.org 

Resources:

Catalog and brochure illustrations of Russell graders can be found at several websites:

www.chriscomachinery.com 

https://olddesignshop.com 

Books.google.com list an ad that appeared in  the North Carolina Highway Bulletin Vol. 2

An ad for Russell road machinery that ran in The American City in 1914 on sale at www.ebay.com 

Info. about Russell Grader Manufacturing Co. at  www.caterpillar.com