08/10/2026
Before a milestone becomes history, it begins with an idea put to the test.
In 1905, International Harvester began testing friction-drive traction truck chassis from the Ohio Manufacturing Company as it explored how to turn stationary gasoline engine power into mobile tractor power.
By 1906, International Harvester had entered gasoline tractor production, mounting its single-cylinder “Famous” gasoline engines on modified chassis with friction drive to the wheels.
The design was not yet the finished answer. The friction-drive system had limitations under heavy loads, but the knowledge gained helped shape the gear-driven tractors that followed, beginning with the International Harvester Type A tractor.
Today, a current Case IH Magnum series tractor shows how profoundly the role of the tractor has changed. The 1906 machine brought gasoline power to the field; the Magnum series delivers greater capacity, control and productivity through advanced hydraulics, transmission technology, automation and precision farming systems. The connection is not simply that both are tractors. Each represents the engineering priorities of its time, shaped by what farmers needed next.
We recognise 120 years since International Harvester entered gasoline tractor production and an early idea set a much larger tractor journey in motion.
