Century-Old Tractor Sells For A Fortune

Century-Old Tractor Sells For A Fortune AG WORLD When Bob Anderson brought three loads of parts and the skeleton of a Titan tractor to his MacGregor Man farm in 1978 he had no idea the antique tractor would be worth $375 000 at an auction 33 years later The August 1st sale at a Canadian auction may be the highest in history for a single tractor It’s rather ironic since the 1913 Model 18-35 Titan was something of a dud According to history Anderson has read the model was manufactured in Chicago from 1912 to 1916 The plan was to make 259 of them but there were so many complaints from buyers that the company’s board of directors voted to stop making them after the 119th The 18-35 hp Titan had twin cylinders and a twin crank A variable speed governor gave the operator a choice of 120 or 425 rpm’s It had a centrifugal water pump and large water tank and was started on gasoline and then switched to kerosene after it warmed up It had a sliding gear-type transmission with friction clutch Most were scrapped during WW II so that Anderson’s is one of only two running models known to exist The other one is in North Dakota The tractor was purchased new in 1915 by Joseph Bowes in High Bluff Man There is no record of what it cost The Titan was used for threshing and one time to plow 50 acres In 1926 Stan Bowes purchased it for $350 at a family estate sale and used it for threshing until he parked it in 1927 Later he tore it apart with the plan to restore it But the tractor remained in pieces Anderson who farmed and collected International Harvester tractors learned about it and visited Bowes in July of 1978 That fall in the midst of harvest he got a 5 a m call: “If you still want it come get it ” Though the tractor was free he paid plenty in labor to put it back together “At that time there was no other tractor like it to go by It was just a big jigsaw puzzle ” Anderson recalls “Some days half a dozen parts would match and fit and the next day I couldn’t get any to fit ” Anderson pulled the skeleton Titan into his shop with four 300-watt yard lights and a wood stove He worked on it over the winter between caring for beef cattle and his other chores He completed it by the following summer All the parts were there except for the cast iron exhaust Anderson used cast iron water pipes to replace it When it was assembled he used another tractor to help crank the flywheel to start it along with the ignition that Stan Bowes had cobbled together “It’s a two-man job to start it – one strong man to roll it over and a guy in the cab Once it starts to fire away it will go ” Anderson says He kept the Titan stored inside and took it to area shows along with other tractors in his collection After a close call with colon cancer the 85-year-old decided to sell his IH collection so his wife Arlene wouldn’t have to deal with it later Murray Rankin Auctions and Ross Taylor Auction Service teamed up to promote and organize the auction “I started to work on it 11 months before the auction ” Murray Rankin says It was advertised in U S magazines and on the internet With calls coming from all over the world Anderson and the auction companies expected the Titan would bring in a good price “It’s a rare model you just can’t find This year it will be 100 – and it’s running You can’t get more of a collectible than that ” Rankin says Dudley Diebold of Roxbury Conn was determined to purchase the Titan and he made the successful bid through an agent present at the auction The auction which drew 800 bidders also included another 50 or so IH tractors from Anderson’s collection “I miss it ” Anderson admits regarding the Titan “I hated to see it leave the yard but it was the right thing to do at the time ” Now at 86 he’s turned his attention to his other collectibles including steam engines – one with a boiler built Dec 20 1912 And though his doctor has warned him to take it easy because of health issues he admits he loves to spend time in his shop Contact: FARM SHOW Followup R M Anderson P O Box 118 MacGregor Man R0H 0R0 Canada ph 204 685-2137; aanderson@inetlink ca

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