Deere & Company, the firm founded by John Deere, began to expand its range of John Deere equipment to include the tractor business in 1876. The Deere company briefly experimented with building its own tractor models, the most successful of which was the Dain all-wheel drive.
Foundation to 1948 Dain all-wheel drive The Dain all-wheel drive was the first tractor produced by John Deere, and had only a single rear wheel. In 1911, Deere purchased the Dain Manufacturing Company of Ottumwa, Iowa. The next year, Deere decided to design its own tractor, and Dain founder, Joseph Dain Sr., was directed to design that tractor. After several prototypes, the design was finalized in 1917, and 100 production units were ordered. By 1919 when that production run was complete, Deere had purchased the Waterloo Boy Company. Although the Dain AWD was ahead of its time, with features such as a shift-on-the-fly transmission, Deere halted production in late 1919, partly because the cost of the Dain tractor was double that of the Waterloo Boy, and partly because of the death of Dain Sr.
Waterloo Boy
The predecessor of the Waterloo Boy came about in 1892. It was made by thresher-man John Froelich. It is called the "Froelich tractor". In March 1918, Deere & Company decided to continue its foray into the tractor business by purchasing the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company which manufactured the popular Waterloo Boy tractor at its facilities in Waterloo, Iowa.
Deere & Company continued to sell tractors under the Waterloo Boy name until 1923.
Model D (Spoker Model D)
Despite a rather severe farm economy depression at the time, Deere & Company management decided to build the Model D prototype in 1923, designed by Muir L. Frey (father of Ford Mustang designer Donald N. Frey). The Deere Model D was produced from March 1, 1923, to July 3, 1953, the longest production span of all the two-cylinder John Deere tractors. Over 160,000 were made.Placard at Western Development Museum display.
The first Model D rode on steel wheels with a (later ) cylinder bore and stroke of the two-cylinder hand-cranked engine rated . It was not, however, the first tractor to bear the Deere name; as a number of Deere experimental tractors, and the John Deere Dain all-wheel drive tractor (of which approximately 100 were produced during 1918 and 1919) had all carried the Deere name before the Model D.
By 1925, Deere & Company realized the standard Model D did not meet customers' needs for industrial applications. Steel wheels were not suitable for hard surfaces, and the gearing was too slow for safe road speeds. Solid rubber tires were added, and engineers fitted a 28 tooth sprocket to the final drive, giving a road speed of . The company replaced the two-cylinder engine with a . In 1926, Deere & Company advertised the model as the "John Deere industrial tractor", with rear wheels and fronts with solid tires. This became known as the "DI". Options also included wheel weights.
GP tractor On June 20, 1928, the model designation was changed from "C" to "GP", to avoid confusion with the "D" when dealers were phoning in orders to the factory. "GP" stands for "general purpose". This new model GP had the same horsepower, engine displacement, weight, and three-speed transmission as the model C. The GP's first serial number was 200211. In 1930, the GP was updated with a , engine.
The John Deere Model GP was built in five distinct versions through the course of its production: The standard-front GP, or John Deere standard, built from March 1928 to February 1935 The John Deere two-wheel tricycle-front GP, or GP-tricycle, of which twenty-three units were built between August 1928 and April 1929 The John Deere GP wide-tread, or GPWT, built from November 1929 to November 1933 The John Deere GP wide-tread Series P, a GPWT with narrowed rear tread width designed to suit potato rows, built between January and August 1930 The John Deere general purpose orchard tractor, or "GPO", from April 1931 to April 1935. This tractor had specialized shielding for groves and orchards and around low-hanging branches. Some GPOs were fitted with crawler undercarriages from the Lindeman Brothers in Yakima, Washington. These are commonly known as "GPO Lindemans".
The John Deere Model A came off the assembly line in April 1934. The tractor was , was , and had a four-speed transmission. There were eight different model A variations. Some of these were tricycle, hi-crop, orchard, single front tire, and industrial models. The tricycle wheel design, patterned after that of the Farmall tractor, reduced steering effort, and greatly increased maneuverability. The Model B was introduced in June 1934. This tractor had a shorter frame than the Model A, but it was eventually lengthened so it could use some of the same equipment that the larger models A and G used. There were also eight different Model B tractor variations, the same as the larger Model A.
The much larger G model arrived in 1937. It was fitted with a , engine, and a four-speed transmission. Deere & Company publicized the G as a three-plow tractor, and it was built until 1941, when the GM (G, modernized) replaced it. The GM model was made from 1942 to 1947. The drawbar power increased to , and a new six-speed transmission was also added. The G model got a restyled front at this point, as did the other John Deere tractor models. The GM had electric starting and lighting added to its options. During its production time, the G tractor was available as a hi-crop, single front wheel, and styled.
Un-styled row crop tractors
Deere & Company made their first un-styled row crop tractor in 1929, to compete with the Farmall. It was a modified GP tractor, with adjustable rear axle track (distance between wheels on the same axle), and a narrow front end. In 1933, Deere & Company started experimenting with what would come to be known as the Model A. The new Model A went into production in 1934. The A launched John Deere into the row crop farming market. The A was by far the most popular two-cylinder tractor that Deere & Company produced. The next year the Model B was introduced. It was one third smaller than the A, which made it ideal for smaller farms. A few years later, the Model G was introduced in 1937. It remained un-styled for several more years than the A and B. The un-styled tractors launched Deere & Company into the row crop farming market which they are still a major part of today. The model designation was actually labeled on the support between the seat and the platform. Any other location is an incorrect restoration. This continued onto the styled tractors until 1947.
The Deere & Company very nearly went bankrupt in the Great Depression. Only a large order of tractors for the Soviet Union kept the company going.
John Deere A 1934-1939 John Deere B 1935-1939 John Deere D 1923-1939 John Deere G 1937-1941
Streamlined look In 1937, John Deere hired well known industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss from New York City to re-style Deere & Company's agricultural equipment, especially its tractors. In the fall of 1937, a John Deere tractor engineer was sent to New York to ask Dreyfuss to redesign the tractors. Legend has it that Dreyfuss was so intrigued by the project, that he took a train to Waterloo that very night. Dreyfuss learned to operate the tractors, and worked with them in the field to gain firsthand knowledge of the changes that needed to be made. The first two letter series tractors (the A and B) were the first to receive the new modern styling, and other models were added later. The Dreyfuss styling was intended to help Deere & Company compete with the forthcoming Farmall "letter series" of tractors, which, along with the Ford-Ferguson, were John Deere's largest competition at this time. Dreyfuss and the Waterloo engineers perfected the styled design that was used on all John Deere tractors, with only minor changes through to 1959.
The 1930s and 1940s saw a large number of different John Deere models emerge, as small farmer.s emerging from their Depression troubles increasingly turned from horses to tractors. Deere & Company's GM model was introduced in 1942, and was made until 1947. Engine power was increased to , and a new six-speed transmission was also added. The G model got a restyled front at this point, as did the other John Deere tractors models. The GM had electric start and lights added to its options. During its production time, the G tractor was available in hi-crop and single front wheel versions. The G was restyled in 1941, but did not start to roll off the assembly line until early 1942. Like the smaller A and B tractors, the G model had the six-speed transmission added to it. In 1946, the 1946 model "D" had a engine, which was enormous for the day. Two new additions to the tractor line, the M and R models, were also added.
After the models A and B got new styling, both tractors were given six-speed transmissions in late 1940. The A was out of a engine, while the smaller B was both , reflecting the earlier and later updates between 1938 and 1946. The 14.84 Model H was given the Dreyfuss look from the time it was introduced in 1938. The H broke a fuel economy record when it was tested in Nebraska. This tractor also had three variations that came out in 1940–1941. The H tractor was out of a engine, and had a three-speed transmission. 1947, all models operator platforms were updated with, a cushioned seat, new steering column, lights, battery, and electric starting which resulted in an inclosed flywheel.
In 1939, the restyled Model D appeared. The D was a tractor, and weighed . Options available on this tractor included electric lighting and starting. In August 1940, Deere & Company introduced the new model LA which was followed by the model LI. The LA had a engine with belt horsepower. The John Deere G tractor was restyled in 1941, but did not start to roll off the assembly line until early 1942. Like the smaller A and B tractors, the G model also had the six-speed transmission, but also featured electric lights and electric start.
In 1947, Deere & Company opened a new tractor factory in Dubuque, Iowa, built to produce the John Deere Model M. The M was created to address the increasing demand for small tractors, and compete with the increasingly popular Ford, and the smaller Farmall tractor models. The M was the second John Deere tractor to use a vertical two-cylinder engine, after the LA, but the first to with a square bore to stroke ratio of with a high row crop.
John Deere A 1939-1952 John Deere B 1939-1952 John Deere H 1938-1947 John Deere D 1939-1953 John Deere G 1942-19 John Deere LA 1940-1947 John Deere M 1947-1953
1949–1959: diesels and post World War II production