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   from the issue of February 10, 2005

     
 
A Piece of University History

Since it was established in 1919 the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab has tested more than 1,845 tractors. The Test Lab was founded to make sure that tractor manufacturers' claims of performance were accurate.

 

 

During the early years, drawbar horsepower, belt horsepower, and fuel efficiency were tested. Today the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab tests an average of 23 tractors a year and is recognized internationally as the standard for tractor testing.

In this photo, from 1953, Professor Chauncy Smith, member of the original Tractor Test Board and professor in the agricultural engineering department, drives the Waterloo Boy.

In 1920, the Waterloo Boy tractor was the first tractor to successfully pass the Nebraska tractor tests. The Waterloo Boy Gasoline and Engine Co. would later become the John Deere Tractor Co.

Many of the tractors tested at the Test Lab are housed at the Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test and Power Museum. The museum is named after Lester Larsen who was the Engineer in Charge of the lab from 1946-1975. Larsen was instrumental in initiating the collection of historic tractor test equipment as well as acquiring tractors that illustrate the key developments in agricultural mechanization over the decades. The Larsen Tractor Museum also houses the Tractor Test archives which contain the original tractor tests as well as photographs and films relating to the history of agricultural technology.

The Larsen Museum is open Monday through Friday 9-Noon and 1-4, Saturday 10-2 and Sunday Noon-4. The web site is tractormuseum.unl.edu.


In this weekly feature, the Scarlet takes a look back at a moment of UNL's past through a historical photo, story or short item. Information for this week's item was submitted by Donna Martin of the Larsen Tractor Test Museum. To suggest an item for this feature, call 472-8844.


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