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The Manitoba Universal
Manitoba Universal tractor on exhibit in the Implement Shop
on Boomtown Street, Saskatoon Western Development Museum
WDM photo by Garry Hayes
One of the rarest tractors in the Saskatchewan Western
Development Museum collection came out of Winnipeg about 1915.
The Manitoba Universal Farm Tractor was one of a small handful
of tractors manufactured in Western Canada. It was a short-lived
product of Western Steel and Iron Company Limited, a company
that built other implements for the agricultural market.
Little is known about the Manitoba Universal. We do know that
the company advertised in The Grain Growers’ Guide. A half-page
advertisement in the July 28, 1915 edition proclaimed the
Manitoba Universal as “the most practical light farm tractor in
Western Canada.” With 8 horsepower on the drawbar and 16 on the
belt, it could pull a two-bottom plow. The advertisement went on
to point out that it was “absolutely a One-Man tractor.”
During the teens, steam traction engines and cumbersome,
kerosene-burning tractors were beginning to give way to more
affordable gas-powered versions suited to the needs of average
farmers. Dozens of tractor companies, most of them in the United
States, came up with all sorts of designs–and most lasted only a
few years. The Manitoba Universal, a product of Western Canada,
was one of these small tractor experiments.
Western Steel & Iron continued to pitch its tractor in The Grain
Growers’ Guide, one of the leading farm papers of the day. An
October 6, 1915 advertisement proclaimed, “The Manitoba
Universal will pull 2 14 in. plows in breaking and 3 in stubble,
at a speed of two miles per hour. It will pull a 24 disc drill,
an 8 ft cultivator or a 10 ft. disc harrow. It will haul a 4 ton
load on practically any road with ease. It will drive any
machine requiring belt power up to 18 h.p. capacity. It can be
used practically all the year round without regard to weather.
It means bigger crop areas and less labor. It is so simple and
durable that anyone can operate it efficiently.” And all this
for $697.
Advertising was clearly aimed at the farmer who was looking to
replace at least some of his horses with tractor power. The
company’s 1917 sales catalogue asked the question, “What will
the light tractor do for you,” and provided the answers. “It
will do the work of from 6 to 8 horses. It will replace some
horses and leave others for jobs they can handle better... It
will keep on going without a high priced engineer to look after
it. It costs less than horses when operating and eats no feed
when idle. It will run a light threshing machine perfectly...Can
you expect any better value for any less money?”
The Manitoba Universal was a three-wheel tractor. It had a
double opposed four-cycle motor with 5-inch bore and 6 ½-inch
stroke, magneto, force sight feed oiler, absolute governor and
circulating pump. It ran at 800 rpm and burned gasoline instead
of the lower grade kerosene. The frame was made of 6-inch steel
channel. The large “masterwheel” was five feet in diameter with
a 20-inch rim rolled out of steel plate. The front wheels were
42 inches in diameter.
Like many other tractors of its day, the Manitoba Universal was
dangerous to operate. A story is told of two Alberta brothers
who each lost an arm in the open drive chain of one of these
tractors. Despite its claims to easy and efficient operation,
the Manitoba Universal quickly passed into history. Only two
examples are known to remain–one in the Western Development
Museum collection, the other privately owned in Manitoba.
The WDM purchased its Manitoba Universal in Brandon, Manitoba in
1948. It is on exhibit in the Implement Shop on Boomtown Street
in the Saskatoon Western Development Museum. Be sure to see this
unique piece of Western Canadian manufacturing history when
visiting Boomtown.
Sources:
Baxter, Pat; “Universal Farm Tractor,”
Canadian Antique Power, July/August, 1994, p. 46
The Grain Growers’ Guide, July 28, 1915, p. 3
The Grain Growers’ Guide, October 6, 1915, p. 19
The Grain Growers’ Guide, December 1, 1915, p. 32
The Western Steel & Iron Company Limited catalogue, 1917, pp. 19
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