ONE OF THE BIGGEST

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30901, 6 November 1965, Page 8

ONE OF THE BIGGEST

This is claimei. to be the largest rubber-tyred agricultural tractor in the Southern Hemisphere and probably in the world. It is a Case 1200 Traction King manufactured by the J. I. Case Company of Racine, Wisconsin, in the United States of America.

The big machine, which has been purchased by a Southland contractor for work on country under development for farming by the Lands and Survey Department in the Te Anau-Mossburn area, weighs more than seven tons, stands about 9ft tall and is nearly 16ft long. It cost £6250 and

its big tyres are worth about £93 each. It is used on the big acreage wheat farms in the United States drawing two implements at a time. With tandem discs behind it will cover 33ft at a time and in drilling 48ft at a time. A photograph of the big machine seen this week showed it drawing two four-furrow ploughs. Pulling tandem discs in Southland it is expected to operate at three miles per hour. In top gear it will do 15 miles an hour. With its 90-gallon diesel fuel tank it will run for 12 to 15 hours non-stop under full load. It is powered by a 140 horse-

power six cylinder" engine. It has a drawbar horsepower of 106 and a maximum drawbar pull of 15,8601 b ait 2.3 miles an hour.

It has four-wheel drive and is coupled for power- steering for the four wheels. The front wheels are operated by the steering wheel while a lever close by is used to operate the rear wheels. For work on slopes and hillsides a crab type of steering can be used.

Highly manoeuvrable it has a turning circle of 35ft It can be fitted with three-point linkage for mounted implements.