Original Cat Challenger Goes On Display

Original Cat Challenger Goes On Display TRACTORS Antiques 20-5-25 We spotted this unusual display at the re-cent LeSueur County Pioneer Power Show at LeSueur, Minn. The rubber-tracked tractor on the right is the original Cat Challenger prototype built in the early 1970's. The prototype was used for Caterpillar's earliest experiments with rubber belted tracks. The company also used the tractor to test various undercarriage designs and bogie wheel systems. "In place of front steel idler wheels was a pair of rubber highway truck tires," noted Paul Athrop, author of a book on the Caterpillar company which includes a section on the Challenger. The prototype used a D6D chassis and an after-cooled 3306 engine. It's owned by Ziegler Inc., Bloomington, Minn. The tractor on the left is the latest 1996 Challenger model.

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