Desjardin 5 /6 HP Engine

Charles-Alfred Roy Desjardins began his business career as a shipbuilder. About 1865 he founded La Compagnie Desjardins at St. Andre - de - Kamouraska, Quebec in Canada and began producing  a variety of farm implements. His product line continued to expand and by 1911 it included gasoline engines and a small threshing machine that could be powered by an engine as small as one rated for four horsepower. These small threshing outfits held a lot of appeal for small farm operators because it freed them from depending on contract thresher men.

Around the turn of the last century Arthur Stanley Jones emigrated to the western provinces of Canada from England and established himself as a farmer. A farmer who lived nearby owned one of the Desjardins threshers and when Jones saw it, he realized the potential it held as a business opportunity. By 1912 Jones had become the agent for Desjardins in a territory that included Ontario, the western provinces and the northern states that bordered Canada. He sold Desjardin products in this area that were rebranded Call of the West. He was so successful in this enterprise that these engines are better known today than those that carry the Desjardins name.

By 1919 Jones had expanded his operation in Saskatoon to include offices, warehouses and a factory that made assorted farm implements and a blower for the threshing machines that Jones had deigned. An economic downturn in the early twenties hit the area hard and Jones was unable to meet the debt obligations his expansions had incurred. He sold his interest in the operation to Desjardins at what he claimed was a great loss. A few weeks later the factory mysteriously burned to the ground. Disputes soon arose over the insurance settlement, among other things, and both parties lawyered up. By the time the torts had settled, both sides were the worse for wear, but Jones seemed to have come out on top. He received a settlement from Desjardins and packed up and moved to California, never to be heard from in the manufacturing business again. Desjardins plodded on into the Great Depression and filed for bankruptcy in 1930.

You don’t see many Desjardins engines in my neck of the woods. In fact, this 5 or 6 horsepower 1918 example that Dennis Lamb brought to the 2016 Steam Expo at Cumming, Ga. is the only one I’ve seen.  There are a few photos posted online including one that Aumann Auctions sold for $971.25 back in 2016. Add a few video clips and that’s about it. They may be more common in Canada or out west where Jones sold them as Call of the West Engines. 

Sources: 

www.gasenginemagazine.com  Nov / Dec. 1987 article on A. Stanley Jones by Markham W. Hislop 

www.tonysengines.com/des-jardinengine 

http://buzzcoilbrinkster.net 

www.smokstak.com 

https://bidaumannauctions.com 

Case Model C

Toward the end of the Roaring Twenties the management at Case started to worry that the cross mount engine tractors it had been building since the early teens were looking antiquated compared to some of the sleeker models being produced by the competition. Some commented that even the normally unflappable “ole Abe” was beginning to look concerned.

R&D for a new design had been underway for a number of years and it all came together in 1929 with a smooth running, long stroke, inline four cylinder engine tractor they named the Model L.  A short time later it was followed by a scaled down version dubbed the Model C. Variants followed: with the C model being produced in row crop, CC, industrial, CI, orchard, CO  and a number of  specialized versions. 

The C was powered by a Case built four cylinder vertical I head engine. With a bore of 3 ⅞” and stroke of 5 ½” it displaced 259.5 cubic inches. At the University of Nebraska Tractor Test Number 167, conducted between August 12 and 19th 1929 it managed 27.33 brake horsepower and 17.41 drawbar horsepower in the rated load tests. 

Engine components noted in that test included a Robert Bosch model FU4ARS magneto, a Kingston Mod. L3  1 ¼” carburetor, a flyball governor and an oil filter air cleaner. 

Power was transmitted through a hand operated twin disc plate clutch located within the unit frame to a three speed transmission. Forward speeds were reported as low 2.30 mph, intermediate 3.28 mph, high 4.5 mph. Reverse managed 2.6 miles per hour. The final drive enclosed gear and chain system drove the 42 inch diameter rear wheels.

Total weight, without the operator, was recorded as 4000 pounds. Length was 114.5 inches, width: 61.5 “, height: 53.3”. 

Case produced the C model from 1929 until 1940. Sales were respectable for a depression era tractor. A total of 20,487 units of the standard model were built. The total when all variants are included reached 50,000 plus. 

The model C shown here was displayed at the 2017 Steam Expo. in Cumming, Ga. No information about it was provided.

Sources: 

University of Nebraska Tractor Test Number 167 report. www.digitalcommons.unl.edu 

www.tractordata.com 

Antique Power vol. 30 issue 3, March / April 2018