Caterpillar Ten

Even before Holt Manufacturing Co. and C.L. Best Tractor Company merged in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co., there were “ Caterpillar “ crawler tractors. Holt began experimenting with track layer designs in 1906 and was in production by 1908. Legend has it that somebody’s kid was watching a demonstration and exclaimed “ It moves like a caterpillar!” and Holt picked up the expression and began applying it to their crawler tractors.  By 1914 Holt’s tracklayers were well developed and were in great demand by the British and French armies who used them for hauling artillery and  supply wagons through the mud on the Western Front.  They were so successful in this application that they may have been the inspiration for the first tanks.

The Caterpillar Ten was developed in 1928 as a replacement for the popular 2 ton model in the company’s product line. Production began in December but only a handful were actually produced with serial numbers running from PT 1 to PT 7 according to a list published at chriscomachinery.com . 1929 was the first full year of production with serial numbers running from PT 8 to PT 3173. The number stamped on the data plate of this example is PT 1420, putting it in the middle of this range. 

Small crawler tractors have always been well received because there are a number of things that they do very well. The floatation developed by the area of the tracks enable them to operate where wheeled machines would quickly bog down. Sitting close to the ground with a low center of gravity gives them an advantage when being used in hilly terrain. They are especially favored by orchard operators. Between 1928 and 1932 Caterpillar manufactured around 4929 copies of the Ten that sold for $1,100 each. 

A model Ten was sent to the University of Nebraska Lincoln where it was evaluated from May 6th to May 21 1929 in test number 160 where the following specifications were recorded. 

Caterpillar built their own 4 cylinder vertical “L” head gasoline engine for the Ten that had a bore of 3 ⅜” and a stroke of 4”. Turning at 1500 rpm it recorded a rated 15.26 brake horsepower and posted 10.10 hp drawbar. Ignition was by way of an Eisemann mod. G4 magneto. The carburetor was an Ensign mod. Bet 1”. Air was cleaned through a Pomona Vortex oiled filter. Lubrication was by pressure and splash. 

A foot operated single plate clutch assisted shifting the gears that provided speeds recorded  as: low 2.02 mph, intermediate 2.59 mph, high 3.50 mph and reverse 2.07 mph. Power was transmitted by way of an enclosed gear drive. Tracks measured 13.9 feet in length by 8 inches across the face.  A belt pulley measuring 9 ½” in diameter with a face of 6 ½” turning at 1050 rpm was available for power takeoff. 

The Caterpillar Ten shown here is owned by the Culp Family and was exhibited at the Tractors and Trains Festival 2018 at the NC Transportation Museum, Spencer, NC.

Resources:

University of Nebraska Tractor Test number 160

https://books.google.com  Caterpillar Chronicle: History of the Greatest Earthmovers by Eric C. Olemann 

www.caterpillar.com 

Encyclopedia of American Farm Tractors by C.H. Wendel