Scale Froelich Does Double Duty

By Bill Vossler
Published on November 18, 2008
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Brian Nelson owns this Froelich replica, which was made by Archie Hanson.
Brian Nelson owns this Froelich replica, which was made by Archie Hanson.
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A Root & VanDervoort engine powers the Froelich replica.
A Root & VanDervoort engine powers the Froelich replica.
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A Froelich replica in the Deere & Co. collection. It features a modified 1-cylinder John Deere Model D test engine and part of a Waterloo Boy transmission.
A Froelich replica in the Deere & Co. collection. It features a modified 1-cylinder John Deere Model D test engine and part of a Waterloo Boy transmission.
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The water tank on the Froelich replica is round, unlike the enclosed, square one on the original.
The water tank on the Froelich replica is round, unlike the enclosed, square one on the original.
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The front wheels on the Froelich replica are probably from a silo filler.
The front wheels on the Froelich replica are probably from a silo filler.

Even though he’s just 42, Brian Nelson has a long history with old iron.

In 1954 his grandfather, Carl A. Nelson, was the first president of one of the oldest and largest thresher shows in the U.S., the annual Western Minnesota Steam Threshers’ Reunion at Rollag.

So it comes as no surprise that Brian carries an interest in old iron, and by extension, John Deere tractors. That in turn led him to become the owner of an approximately half-size replica of the Froelich tractor (for more on the connection between the Froelich engine and Deere & Co., see related article “Froelich Launched New Era on the Farm“). Some consider the Froelich to be the first tractor ever built (in 1892), referring to it as “the first tractor with forward and reverse.”

“I’ve been driving tractors at Rollag ever since I can remember, ever since I could operate the clutch,” Brian says. “Usually it was the 1936 John Deere A with steel wheels that my grandpa had.”

In 1979, as a high school freshman, Brian bought his first tractor (a 1939 John Deere) for $160 and drove it home from the auction. “My father and I fixed that one up and had it at Rollag for several years, and now it’s in the process of being restored again,” he says. “That was the first tractor I could call my own. I was probably 14 years old.” 

Brian and his father, Nels C. Nelson, bought and restored several other John Deere tractors – an A, several B’s, a D, G and H, but nothing rare until the Froelich replica.

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