The Old Iron Zone

With its distinctive square radiator and large open flywheel, the Rumely Oil Pull may very well be the most easily recognizable of the prairie tractors.  Oil Pulls may also have the most distinctive exhaust note of any tractor, their chug-chug-chug-chug sound is instantly recognizable by nearly anyone who has ever heard one.  On February 21st, 1910 rumely opened a new factory in Laporte Indiana to produce their Oil Pull tractor.  By November of the same year, the first 100 machines had come off the line.


First Generation: Heavyweights
The first Oil Pulls built were the model B, which were produced from 1910 to 1912.  The model B had a 2 cylinder engine with a 9.5" bore and a 12 inch stroke, it had a horsepower rating of 25-45.  In 1911 rumely announced two new models, the first of which was the model E.  The model E had a 2 cylinder engine with a 10" bore and a 12" stroke with a horsepower rating of 30-60.  The model E was produced until 1923 with very few changes, a testament to its solid design.  The second model introduced, the F, is unique among Oil Pulls, as it is the only model with a 1 cylinder engine.   Like the E, the F had a 10" bore and a 12" stroke, with many parts in common, which leads to people often referring to the model F as a 1/2 E.  The engines of the model B and E were designed so that the 2 pistons moved in the same direction, this allowed for an even 360 degree rotation between each power stroke, but the mass of the large pistons moving together made the engine fairly unbalanced, resulting in the need for a large flywheel.  The B, E and F all had a rated speed of 375 RPMs.  During this time period, Rumely also acquired Gaar, Scott & Co. of Richmond Indiana.  Gaar Scott was one of the more successful builders of steam engines and was just entering into the tractor market with its "Tiger Pull."  The Tiger Pull was rated at 40 tractive and 80 belt horse power.  It had a 4 cylinder engine with a 7 3/4" bore and a 10" stroke.  The Tiger Pull ran between 500 and 600 RPMS.  The drive wheels were 88" tall.  Rumely advertised the Tiger Pull along side their own line until all the remaining stock was sold off.

Second Generation: Smaller Heavyweights
Production of the second generation heavyweights began in 1917 with the introduction of the 14-28 (later related to 16-30) model H.  Unlike the older heavyweights, the second generation had a 180 difference in crankshaft throws. Although this resulted in a 180 degree difference between the first two power strokes and a 540 degree difference between the next, the engine was better balanced, thus allowing a higher operating  speed.  In 1918 rumely introduced two more smaller heavyweights, the 20-40 G and the 10-20 K (later re-rated to 12-20)

Third Generation: Lightweights
1924 brought major changes to the Oil Pull lineup, there was a whole new line introduced and production was stopped on all of the second generation machines.  The new models were the 15-25 L, 20-35 M, 25-45, R, and the 30-60 S.  The lightweight name was somewhat of a misnomer as there is nothing light about a 17,500 pound model S. 

Final Generation: Super-powered Lightweights
In 1928 Rumely began introducing revamped Lightweights dubbed the "Super-Powered" line, of which the main difference from the standard lightweight line was increased engine speed..  The lineup consisted of the 20-30 W, 25-40 X, 30-50Y and the 40-60 model Z, which were the L, M, R, and S respectively.  Production ended in 1930, thus ending the great Oil Pull line.