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Massey Harris Tractors
The Massey-Harris Company was formed in 1891 when The Massey Manufacturing Co. & A. Harris & Son
merged. The Massey-Harris Company became involved with tractors in 1917 when they introduced U.S.
merged. The Massey-Harris Company became involved with tractors in 1917 when they introduced U.S.
Daniel Massey
Alanson Harris
Hart Almerrin Massey
made Bull tractors branded as Massey-Harris to Canadian farmers. When the Bull Tractor Co. failed in 1919 Massey-Harris sold tractors based on Chicago made Parrett designs. The next U.S. built tractor marketed under the Massey-Harris brand name was the Wallis 20-30 made by J. I. Case Plow Co. of Racine, Wisconsin. In 1928 Massey-Harris purchased the Racine factory and sold the J. I. Case Plow Co. name to the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co in the same year.
Between the two World Wars Massey-Harris opened factories in France and Germany, in 1930 they acquired a major interest in H. V. McKay Co. of Sunshine near Melbourne Australia. In 1946 Massey-Harris began producing mowers and hay machinery at Trafford Park, Manchester U.K. Canadian built 44 and 55 tractors were sold by the U.K. branch of the company until the 744 PD went into limited production at Manchester in 1948.
The Massey-Harris and the Ferguson organisations merged in 1953, initially both makes continued to be marketed under their original brand names. Shortly after the introduction of the Massey Ferguson 65 tractor in 1957 the Massy-Harris brand name was phased out, the last tractor to carry the Massey-Harris name in the United Kingdom was the 745S last produced in 1958
Between the two World Wars Massey-Harris opened factories in France and Germany, in 1930 they acquired a major interest in H. V. McKay Co. of Sunshine near Melbourne Australia. In 1946 Massey-Harris began producing mowers and hay machinery at Trafford Park, Manchester U.K. Canadian built 44 and 55 tractors were sold by the U.K. branch of the company until the 744 PD went into limited production at Manchester in 1948.
The Massey-Harris and the Ferguson organisations merged in 1953, initially both makes continued to be marketed under their original brand names. Shortly after the introduction of the Massey Ferguson 65 tractor in 1957 the Massy-Harris brand name was phased out, the last tractor to carry the Massey-Harris name in the United Kingdom was the 745S last produced in 1958
Historical Massey Harris sales & advertising pamphlets
Tractors marketed & manufactured under the Massey Harris brand
Bull tractor Company
The Bull Tractor Company of Minneapolis, produced light weight prototype 3 wheeled tractor in 1913. They were a twin cylinder 12 hp engined model giving about 5 hp at the drawbar. This first model was Known as the "Little Bull" and was build for 2 years. In 1915 they introduced a larger model with a 25 hp Twin cylinder engine developing 10 hp at the draw bar, this was called the "Big Bull". They had one large and one Small rear wheel to ride level when ploughing. They became one of the biggest suppliers at the time and signed to supply Massey Harris in Canada, but supply problems meant they could not deliver and the deal broke down. The Bull Co. subcontracted manufacture to another firm who then decided to supply other firms instead.
This was a revolutionary design compared to the heavyweight tractors of the time and was much copied by other manufacturers. The Little Bull proved extremely popular, and within a year the company was the biggest producer of tractors in the USA. The Little Bull was followed in 1915 by the more powerful Big Bull, but by this time farmers were finding that the open gears caused problems when dirt got into them and the three-wheeled design could be unstable on hills. The Bull Tractor Co. became bankrupt in 1920 and most tractor manufacturers reverted to four-wheeled tractors.
In 1927 an agreement was reached with the Massey-Harris company for it to sell Wallis tractors in Canada, and the following year Massey-Harris bought the J.I. Case Plow Works outright. M-H contnued to build Wallis tractors, redesigning the 20-30 and introducing a smaller model, the 12-20 in 1929. The 20-30 formed the basis for the Massey-Harris 25 and the 12-20 led to the highly successful M-H Pacemaker and Challenger tractors.
Parret Tractor Company
It was the Parrett tractors that were the first to carry the Massey-Harris name: three models were introduced, the No.1, No.2 and No.3, featuring a four-cylinder Buda engine mounted crossways on the chassis. The No.1 was listed as a 12-25 hp model, although this figure was modified somewhat to 12-22 hp for the almost identical No.2. The 15-28 hp No.3 was very similar to the preceding two models, but saw the radiator moved from a longitudinal to transverse position and the use of a slightly larger engine.
The differneces between the Massey Harris 1 through to 3 models would not show much of a difference on images
The Wallis Tractor Company
Dent Parrett
Wallis 20-30
