The gear wheel reads, “The Russell Traction Special, MFG by the Russell Grader Mfg. Co., Minneapolis, MN Pat. Aug. 28, 1910.” This Russell grader has an 8-foot moldboard.
This is in regard to the article on the Caterpillar grader in the February 2017 issue of Farm Collector. The Russell grader shown in these photos belonged to the local township; I can remember it being used in the 1940s and ’50s. I purchased it in the 1970s to use to grade small jobs round our ranch and it is still used from time to time. When Caterpillar bought Russell in 1928, that put Caterpillar in the grader business.
Willard Ottman, Lemmon, South Dakota
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