John C. Delavigne had a great idea for making a stationary steam
engine portable, and using it as a track-layer to plow and
cultivate, as far back as 1868.
It was an idea whose time had not yet come, and the name of the
inventor is seldom mentioned in histories of development of steam
for farm power.
We assume his name was Delavigne. In the article which appeared
in Vol. 1, No. 2, of Iron Men Album (Spring 1947) it was also
spelled Delavigue. The picture and story first appeared in
Scientific American, Nov. 4, 1868. Here is the original
article:
We are pleased to present two Montana photos from the Belt
Valley History published in 1979. Photo shows turning sod with
plows weighted down with rocks, outfit owner unknown. Photo is
owned by James Dawson, who farms south of Belt and is an avid steam
enthusiast.
We are pleased to present two Montana photos from the Belt
Valley History published in 1979. photo is the John F. Sweeney
outfit with a steam traction engine, separator, cook wagon and trap
wagon. Photo is property of Mrs. Alma Sweeney, widow of the former
owner. The book was compiled by Ethel Castner Kennedy, Box 23,
Belt, Montana 59412, and Eva Stober, in two and one-half years of
research. Prints courtesy of Advanced Litho Printing.
Many attempts were made to plow with the steam traction engine
both in England and in this country before any satisfactory method
was found. Some would work under certain conditions but a good
all-around method was not found until much later.
One difficulty was that the early traction was unwieldly and not
adapted to loose soil. In the accompanying illustration is one that
forms its own roadway, which it always travels in successive
operations in plowing, harrowing and cultivating. It has a platform
26 feet long by 15 wide, supported mainly on two wheels, 9 feet in
diameter by a lever or hand wheel. The platform supports an
ordinary engine and boiler, connected by suitable gearing to the
propelling wheels. The gearing is so calculated to give the machine
a speed of 150 feet per minute, which can be changed by the change
of a pinion. It is designed that the machine shall always travel on
the same track in all the operations so as always to have a firm
road for the traction wheels.
Patented March 31, 1868 by John C. Delavigue of New Orleans,
Louisiana.
