Austin museum home to world’s largest tractor

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This article was published 14/07/2012 (5110 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AUSTIN — Many people don’t realize just how many world records Manitoba is known for around the world.

For instance, did you know Manitoba set the world record for the longest ice skating trail in 2008? We are also home to the longest winter road in the world. Not to mention Winnipeg, the coldest city in the world with a population of more than 600,000.

The Manitoba Agricultural Museum is also quite familiar with records. In 2010, the museum set the record for the world’s largest plow at 66 bottoms. And for 2011, the Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede was voted Manitoba’s No. 1 Festival by WestJet’s Fun ’n Festival event.

With much of the province’s history anchored in agriculture, it is no surprise that Manitoba is also home to the world’s largest tractor — a 1977 Versatile Model 1080 affectionately known as “Big Roy” and now on display at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin.

In the mid-1970s, the major North American tractor companies were in a seeming “horsepower race” as four-wheel-drive had firmly taken hold of the agricultural scene with an ever increasing demand for power.

Two companies heavily involved were Versatile Manufacturing and the Steiger Tractor Company, both of which experimented with various designs.

Steiger had attempted connecting two and even three of their production tractors into one unit.

Meanwhile, at some point in 1976, Versatile president Roy Robinson ordered his engineering team to design and build the world’s most powerful tractor.

Though not considered successful and subsequently eclipsed by the Big Bud 747, Big Roy remains an icon of agricultural four-wheel-drive power and development.

Here are some of its specifications:

• The tractor is more than 30 feet long, 11 feet high and weighs more than 30 tonnes when ballasted for field operations.

• It is powered by a Cummins KTA-1150 diesel engine that generates 600 horsepower.

• The four axles mount a total of eight 30.5 x 32 tires.

• The 1080 design reversed conventional four-wheel-drive tractor design as the engine is located at the rear of the tractor.

• A modern, spacious cab is located ahead of the engine compartment with a 550-gallon fuel tank located ahead of the cab. The cab is accessed from either side through sliding doors and ladders that slide into the body of the tractor when not in use.

• Vision to the rear of the tractor from the cab is limited as the engine compartment is quite tall. To allow vision at the rear a closed circuit TV system was installed with a dustproof 120-degree camera pointing down at the drawbar and a nine-inch TV monitor installed in the dash where the operator could easily view the TV. In 1977, this was definitely cutting edge technology!

• The tractor possesses a six-speed manual transmission which provides speeds between 3.7 mph to 13.2 mph.

• Twelve 60-watt lights provide illumination for night field operations.

• Engine cooling is provided by twin side mounted radiators of 85-quart capacity with two mechanically driven fans of 28-inch diameter drawing air through the radiators.

• The tractor articulates between the second and third axle. The articulation joint, which allows oscillation side to side necessary for steering, also allows for vertical movement of 10-degree plus or minus. This movement is necessary to allow the tires to remain in contact with the ground as the tractor moved over uneven ground. The tractor will steer 40 degrees in either direction.

The four-axle design, however innovative, was the tractor’s downfall.

While the four-axle design allows enough rubber on the ground to use the engine horsepower while allowing the tractor to remain fairly narrow, the result was all four tires on either side run in the same track and cause severe soil compaction problems within this track.

Versatile’s Model 1150, which appeared after the Model 1080 and featured 475 horsepower, reverted to the standard four wheel drive tractor design.

The 1150 optionally uses either very wide tires installed as duals on both axles or mounts triple tires for a total of 12 tires.

Today’s four-wheel-drive tractors are approaching 600 horsepower and either use triple tires ‘all the way around’ or use the newly emerged rubber-track design.

A closer inspection of the tractor shows that its final design was very much a work in progress. Accessing the underside of the tractor reveals that many design alterations were made during the tractor’s life as the frame work bears many weld marks where changes have been made — a true prototype.

While the camera allows for some vision to the rear, vision is still limited. As well, vision to the front is not great as the design of the cab floor, the hood and fenders result in the operator not being able to see the ground within 20 feet of the tractor’s front end.

The Model 1080 never entered production and it is still being debated as to whether production was ever seriously considered. Nevertheless, “Big Roy” has certainly fulfilled its promotional value to the company.

The tractor at the Austin museum remains the single example produced. It was donated to the museum in the 1980s along with several other pieces from Versatile.

» Alex Campbell is the director of the Manitoba Agricultural Museum