R.B. Gray writes, “These brothers, as boys, had been apprenticed with Schliger, Schumm & Co. of Philadelphia who had brought the first Otto engine to this country in 1886. Soon the Dissinger Bros. were to withdraw and organize the company bearing their name. The ‘Capital' traction engine was not put to practical use, however, until 1899. It was not regularly produced until 1904, when it came out with a 1-cylinder engine used in five sizes of the machine: 16-, 20-, 24-, 35- and 45-hp gasoline “traction engines” (the word “tractor” would not be used regularly until Hart-Parr's advertising manager, W.H. Williams, used it in a company advertisement in 1906). These Capital models had 2-speed transmissions, unique during the very early days of tractors.
In 1910, four Capital tractor models were available: 10-20, 15-30 and 25-40, as well as the monstrous 40-80, which contained a 4-cylinder engine of 10-inch-by-15-inch bore and stroke. Capital tractors were no longer manufactured after 1920.
The Antigo Quad-Pull
This tractor with the unusual closed wheels hove into view in the Antigo (Wis.) Tractor Corp. plant, in 1921, and lasted for two years. It was an early four-wheel drive machine of 15-25 hp rating. The Quad-Pull was a small tractor, with four 36-inch wheels, yet was listed as being able to pull three 14-inch plows.
The Beaver
The original Beaver tractor was built by Goold, Shapley & Muir Co. of Brantford, Ontario, Canada starting in 1918. GS&M had come a long way from their original 1892 roots of concrete mixers, water tanks, saw frames and steel windmills, having won major prizes in the windmill tests of the Royal Agricultural Society in London, England. GS&M also began to make gasoline engines by the turn of the century, which led naturally into the manufacture of tractors, starting in 1909.
Two models of the Beaver tractor were built by GS&M. The 12-24, which used a Waukesha 4-1/2-by-6-3/4-inch 4-cylinder motor, was rated for three 14-inch plows, and weighed 5,800 pounds. In 1921, the 15-30 Beaver was introduced with a larger Waukesha 4-cylinder engine of 5-inch-by-6-1/4-inch bore and stroke. The 15-30 weighed 6,300 pounds. It is unclear how long Beaver tractors were built; the company's assets were liquidated in 1934. Today a Beaver tractor can bring up to $20,000, depending on condition.
The Phoenix
The Phoenix tractor first appeared in 1912 and was manufactured by the Phoenix Tractor Co. of Winona, Minn. The 20-30 Model weighed 7,000 pounds and was bright red. It featured the early innovation of running all gears in oil, protecting them from dirt and other elements (unlike the best-selling Little Bull tractor of the same era, models of which were returned to that company's factory in droves when the open gears failed).
A photo of the Phoenix tractor was used in a general description about tractors in a magazine of the time, discussing possible problems: “The main troubles of the power plant are loss of power, irregular action, overheating and noisy operation.”
Within a year, like the bird of legend, the Phoenix disappeared, but it did rise from its ashes when the company was purchased by American Gas Engine Co. of Kansas City, and renamed the Weber tractor. The company disappeared shortly thereafter.
The Wolverine
Both the name of the Wolverine tractor and its company, Ypsilanti Hay Press Co., are probably little known. Three sizes of Wolverine tractors (18, 25 and 35 hp) were built starting in 1912. The Wolverine had a sliding-gear transmission with forward speeds of 1-1/2 and 3 mph, and 2 mph in reverse.