HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-09-04, Page 28RADIAL ALL TRACTION
TRACTOR TIRES
We've gone to
great lengths to
make a better
radial rear.
Our Radial All
traction 23° tractor
rear is the absolute
top of the top-of-our-
line, designed to
deliver our highest
levels of wear,
traction, vibration
resistance, and ride
for today's high
horsepower tractors.
'Firestone 7he Leader in The Field
MICHELIN - UNIROYAL - B F GOODRICH • FIRESTONE - BRIDGESTONE
CAVALIER - BRIGADIER- GOODYEAR - KUMHO - TAURUS - KLEBER
Huron Tire & Auto
AUTO - TRUCK - FARM - SPECIALIST
Hwy. 4 South CLINTON, ONTARIO
(519) 482-3752 OR 482-9796
DOUG RIEHL MIKE McNICHOL
involved in the business, assisted Bell's son,
Earl, who ran the company until his sudden
death in 1948. Left without an heir (Earl's
son fell victim to the Second World War,)
the company was sold to a group of local
investors. This group politely chose to
maintain the Bell name, re-naming the
'business Robert Bell Industries Limited.
Brad Smith became manager in 1951. He
was succeeded by his son, Charles, in.1983.
Charles had been involved in the business
since his childhood.
The largest boiler made by the Bell
company can be found in Nova Scotia.
Weighing 20 tons, it was shipped out in
1981, and is still in use as a waste-burning
boiler at a sawmill.
A number of Bell engines have been
restored and displayed. Among these is one
dated around 1925, which Charles Smith
purchased from the LeBeau brothers, of
Brucefield. The Bell company name has
become synonymous with Huron County
threshing, and is certain to be in evidence at
this year's reunion.
Steam begins
farming
revolution
The first attempts to put steam to work in
agriculture, at the end of the 18th century,
marked the beginning of one of the greatest
revolutions in farming.
• Since then, the tireless efficiency of
engine power has been gradually replacing
human and animal drudgery in many parts of
the world. Of the progress achieved, most
has been due to internal combustion engine:
steam pioneered the principles of power
farming, but the internal combustion engine
has taken over to make the power revolution
a practical reality.
• Thomas Newcomen, a De'onshire
blacksmith, designed the first practical steam
engine in the early 1700s, and Newcomen
engines were operating pumps in mines and
in a few other industrial uses before serious
attempts were made to link steam to farming.
The Newcomen engine had little value to
farming, using great quantities of both water
and coal for a modest power output; it was
also designed to deliver its power through a
reciprocating motion, not the rotary motion
which might power gears or pulleys.
• James Watt and others improved on
Continued on A-9
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Proprietor. Bob Szusz
PAGE A-8. TILE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1996.
Many Bell engines
restored for display
Continued from A-7
too stressful to the side-mounted engines.
Bell and Finlayson then set out to develop a
rear-mounted version.
This new product was rigourously tested,
and production began in 1912. The crank
shaft, intermediate gear shaft, counter shaft
and rear axle were mounted on an
independent steel frame. This was done to
minimize gearing strain on the boiler.
Cradles held the boiler. Open-bottom
fireboxes and flat, spoked drive-wheels were
eventually added. Despite all these other
changes, the design of the actual engine
details, such as the Grimes reverse-gear and
horizontal, sliding friction clutch remained
the same.
These new engines came in two sizes; a 30
hp., 11 x 11 inch model and a 26 hp., 10 1/2
x 11 inch model. A 24 hp., 10 x 10 inch
model was developed for use in Ontario, but
due to its limited turning radius and
awkward response to wood firing, was
discontinued.
A grain separator was added to the
Seaforth site in 1904. In 1905, the company
introduced the "Imperial" threshing machine.
This model was almost identical to the
Avery "Yellow Fever," which was produced
in Moline, Illinois, and was popular in
western Canada.
These separators proved too large for the
Ontario needs, and thus an "Imperial Junior"
was developed. The development of gas
traction engines and smaller separators
facilitated the adoption of a side-shake shoe
and a three-way crank, used to drive kicker
rakes between the sections of the long,
perforated straw deck. All Bell threshers
were built with the "Ruth" self-feeder and
the ''Farmer's Friend" gearless windstacker.
The Stewart rear straw-cutting attachment
was a further option.
By 1912, the Seaforth facility was_
producing a very wide range of products.
Portable boilers on skids, 15-ton self-
propelled road rollers, road graders and
scarifiers, were made. Gasoline-powered
tractors were later introduced.
The company also experimented with a
portable steam engine fitted with a flywheel
governor, which used a variable cut-off to
regulate the speed. This model proved
useful to small electrical plants and only a
few threshing set-ups. It was difficult to use
for threshing, since the governor was so
sensitive that small gusts of wind could
affect it. -
In 1915, the company received permission
to produce shell casings for the war effort.
This production continued until the end of
the war. An addition was started in that year
to assist with this production, but it was not
finished in time for war use. Today, the
building is used for boiler construction.
After the war, "imperial" kerosene tractors
were produced in Seaforth. Built in 20-35
hp. and 25-45 hp. sizes, they were built in
the usual design, with upright four-cylinder
motors, cast in pairs.
In 1928, the end of an era came to the
company. In that year, the company
produced its last steam traction engine, for
William Shortreed, of Wingham. This
machine was apparently the last steam
threshing unit ever produced in Ontario
(grain separators were built until the late
1940s.)
At this time, the Bell plant employed
between 150 and 200 people, thus making it
a quite prominent employer. The company
ad a fully-equipped foundry, machine shop
and wood working shop. Equipment was
hooked up to a line shaft, parts of which are
still visible today.
In 1934, Robert Bell passed away at the
age of 70. John Finlayson, who was still
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