Martin Mayrath established Mayrath Machinery Inc. in Dodge City, Kansas and from 1949 until 1952 built tractors that were offered in three versions. The base model was a five horsepower, Briggs and Stratton engine mounted on a frame. According to the advertisement displayed with this tractor the transmission provided three forward speeds plus reverse. Forward speeds were two to 20 miles per hour. The price for this version was $295.
For a mere $15 more you could move up to an eight and a quarter horsepower Briggs engine. This version offered an increase in speeds from three to thirty miles per hour plus the boost in horsepower. The advertisement claimed an economical sixty miles to a gallon of gasoline.
The Deluxe model was offered for those who only travel first class. In addition to the eight and a quarter hp engine it featured a sheet metal body and a spring mounted bench seat for two passengers. The eighty five extra dollars bought you a machine that couldn’t decide whether it was a garden tractor or a go cart. This element of confusion might explain why Mayrath tractors were only offered for three years.
Options and attachments available included the following. Power take-off with a separate clutch, $6.25. Forty-two inch sickle bar mower, $87.50. Moldboard plow attachment, $29.50. The advertisement boasts, “ mowes at five miles per hour”. That seems like a pretty fast pace for mowing to me.
Mayrath lives on today as part of AGI Global Agricultural Products and Services Company, a multinational company that operates on six continents. AGI Mayrath manufactures portable grain augers and conveying systems at a factory located at Clay Center, Kansas.
Sources:
Mayrath advertisement as shown in photos taken at the 2019 Steam Expo.
www.tractordata.com
http://hutchinson-mayrath.com
www.aggrowth.com
