Continuous track

or more wheels. This band is typically made of modular steel plates in the case of military vehicles and heavy
equipment, or synthetic rubber reinforced with steel wires
in the case of lighter agricultural or construction vehicles.
The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight
of the vehicle better than steel or rubber tyres on an
equivalent vehicle, enabling a continuous tracked vehicle
to traverse soft ground with less likelihood of becoming
stuck due to sinking. The prominent treads of the metal
plates are both hard-wearing and damage resistant, especially in comparison to rubber tyres. The aggressive
treads of the tracks provide good traction in soft surfaces
but can damage paved surfaces, so some metal tracks can
have rubber pads installed for use on paved surfaces.

A closeup of continuous tracks on a bulldozer

Continuous tracks can be traced back as far as 1770 and

today are commonly used on a variety of vehicles including bulldozers, excavators, tanks, and tractors, but can be
found on any vehicle used in an application that can benet from the added traction, low ground pressure and durability inherent in continuous track propulsion systems.

1 History
In modern times, continuous track propulsion systems
can be traced back to a crude continuous track system designed in the 1770s by Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Polish mathematician and inventor Jzef Maria
Hoene-Wroski conceived of the idea in the 1830s.[2]
The British polymath Sir George Cayley patented a continuous track, which he called a universal railway.[3] In
1837, a Russian inventor Dmitry Zagryazhsky designed a
carriage with mobile tracks which he patented the same
year, but due to a lack of funds and interest from manufacturers he was unable to build a working prototype, and
his patent was voided in 1839.

A British Army Challenger 1 tank

1.1 Dreadnaught wheel

Main article: Dreadnaught wheel
Although not a continuous track in the form encountered
today, a dreadnaught wheel or endless railway wheel
An agricultural tractor with rubber tracks
was patented by the British Engineer James Boydell in
1846. In Boydells design, a series of at feet are attached
Continuous track, also called tank tread[1] or caterpil- to the periphery of the wheel, spreading the weight.[4]
lar track, is a system of vehicle propulsion in which a A number of horse-drawn wagons, carts and gun carcontinuous band of treads or track plates is driven by two riages were successfully deployed in the Crimean War,
1

1 HISTORY

waged between October 1853 and February 1856, the

Royal Arsenal at Woolwich manufacturing dreadnaught
wheels. A letter of recommendation was signed by Sir
William Codrington, the General commanding the troops
at Sebastapol.[5][6]

Further to Fowlers patent of 1858, in 1877, a Russian,

Fyodor Blinov, created a tracked vehicle called "wagon
moved on endless rails (caterpillars).[14] It lacked selfpropulsion and was pulled by horses. Blinov received a
patent for his wagon in 1878. From 1881 to 1888 he
Boydell patented improvements to his wheel in 1854 (No. developed a steam-powered caterpillar-tractor. This selftested and featured at
431) - the year his dreadnaught wheel was rst applied propelled crawler was successfully
[14]
a
farmers
exhibition
in
1896.
to a steam engine - and 1858 (No. 356), the latter an
impracticable palliative measure involving the lifting one Steam traction engines were used at the end of the 19th
or other of the driving wheels to facilitate turning.
Century in the Boer Wars. But neither dreadnaught
A number of manufacturers including Richard Bach, wheels nor continuous tracks were used, rather roll-out
roads were thrown under the wheels as
Richard Garrett & Sons, Charles Burrell & Sons and wooden plank
[15]
required.
Clayton & Shuttleworth applied the Boydell patent under licence. The British military were interested in Boydells invention from an early date. One of the objectives was to transport Mallets Mortar, a giant 36 weapon
which was under development but, by the end of the
Crimean war, the mortar was not ready for service. A
detailed report of the tests on steam traction, carried out
by a select Committee of the Board of Ordnance, was
published[7] in June 1856, by which date the Crimean
War was over, consequently the mortar and its transportation became irrelevant. In those tests, a Garrett engine was put through its paces on Plumstead Common.
The Garrett engine featured in the Lord Mayors show
in London, and in the following month that engine was
shipped to Australia. A steam tractor employing dreadnaught wheels was built at Bachs Birmingham works, and
was used between 1856 and 1858 for ploughing in Thetford; and the rst generation of Burrell/Boydell engines
was built at the St. Nicholas works in 1856, again, after
the close of the Crimean war.[8] Between late 1856 and
1862 Burrell manufactured not less than a score of engines tted with dreadnaught wheels. And in April 1858,
The Engineer gave a brief description of a Clayton
& Shuttleworth engine tted with dreadnaught wheels,
which was supplied not to the Western Allies, but to the
Russian Government for heavy artillery haulage in the
Crimea, in the post-war period.[9][10] Steam tractors tted
with dreadnaught wheels had a number of shortcomings
and, notwithstanding the creations of the late 1850s, were
never used extensively.[6][11]
In August 1858, more than two years after the end of the
Crimean War, John Fowler (agricultural engineer) led
British Patent No. 1948 on another form of Endless
Railway. In his illustration of the invention, Fowler used
a pair of wheels of equal diameter on each side of his vehicle, around which pair of toothed wheels ran a 'track'
of eight jointed segments, with a smaller jockey/drive
wheel between each pair of wheels, to support the 'track'.
Comprising only eight sections, the 'track' sections are
essentially 'longitudinal', as in Boydells initial design.[12]
Fowlers arrangement is a precursor to the multi-section
caterpillar track in which a relatively large number of
short 'transverse' treads are used, as proposed by Sir
George Caley in 1825,[13] rather than a small number of
relatively long 'longitudinal' treads.

In short, whilst the development of the continuous track

engaged the attention of a number of inventors in the 18th
and 19th centuries, the general use and exploitation of the
continuous track belonged to the 20th Century.

1.2 20th century

A little known American inventor, Henery T. Stith, developed a continuous track prototype which was, in multiple
forms, patented in 1873, 1880, and 1900. The last was
for the application of the track to a prototype o-road bicycle built for his son.[1] The 1900 prototype is retained
by his surviving family.
Frank Beamond, a less-commonly known but signicant
British inventor, designed and built caterpillar tracks, and
was granted patents for them in a number of countries, in
1900 and 1907.[16]

Lombard Steam Log Hauler (Designed, patented 1901)

1.3 Commercial success

An eective continuous track was invented and implemented by Alvin Orlando Lombard for the Lombard
Steam Log Hauler. He was granted a patent in 1901 and
built the rst steam-powered log hauler at the Waterville
Iron Works in Waterville, Maine, the same year. In all, 83
Lombard steam log haulers are known to have been built
up to 1917, when production switched entirely to internal combustion engine powered machines, ending with

1.4

Caterpillar

a Fairbanks diesel powered unit in 1934. Undoubtedly, 1.4 Caterpillar

Alvin Lombard was the rst commercial manufacturer of
the tractor crawler.
The name came from a soldier during the tests on the
At least one of Lombards steam-powered machines Hornsby crawler, 'trials began at Aldershot in July
apparently remains in working order.[17] A gasoline- 1907. The soldiers immediately christened the 70bhp
[19]
powered Lombard hauler is on display at the Maine State No.2 machine the caterpillar"'.'
Museum in Augusta. In addition, there may have been up Holt adopted that name for his crawler tractors. Holt
to twice as many Phoenix Centipeed versions of the steam began moving from steam to gasoline-powered designs,
log hauler built under license from Lombard, with verti- and in 1908 brought out the 40 horsepower Holt Model
cal instead of horizontal cylinders. In 1903, the founder 40 Caterpillar. Holt incorporated the Holt Caterpillar
of Holt Manufacturing, Benjamin Holt, paid Lombard Company, in early 1910, later that year trademarked the
$60,000 for the right to produce vehicles under his patent. name Caterpillar for his continuous tracks.[20]
During World War I Holt tractors were used by the British
and Austro-Hungarian armies to tow heavy artillery and
stimulated the development of tanks in several countries.
The rst tanks to go into action, the Mark I, built by Great
Britain, were designed from scratch and were inspired
by, but not directly based on the Holt. The slightly later
French and German tanks were built on modied Holt
running gear.

Hornsby tracked, paran-powered tractor c.1908

A modern Caterpillar Inc. D9T bulldozer

Caterpillar Tractor Company began in 1925 from a

merger of the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C. L.
Best Tractor Company; an early successful manufacturer
of crawler tractors.

Hornsby tractor, 1909

At about the same time a British agricultural company,

Hornsby in Grantham, developed a continuous track
which was patented in 1905.[18] The design diered from
modern tracks in that it exed in only one direction, with
the eect that the links locked together to form a solid
rail on which the road wheels ran. Hornsbys tracked vehicles were given trials as artillery tractors by the British
Army on several occasions between 1905 and 1910, but
not adopted. The Hornsby tractors featured a track-steer
clutch arrangement, which is the basis of the modern
crawler operation. The patent was purchased by Holt.

With the Caterpillar D10 in 1977 Caterpillar resurrected

a design by Holt and Best, the high-sprocket-drive, since
known as the "High Drive",[21] which had the advantage
of keeping the main drive shaft away from ground shocks
and dirt,[22] and is still used in their larger dozers.

2 Patent history
A long line of patents disputes who was the originator of
continuous tracks. There were a number of designs that
attempted to achieve a track laying mechanism, although
these designs do not generally resemble modern tracked
vehicles.[23][24][25]

2 PATENT HISTORY

A Model of the Hornsby tractor

The draft of Blinov's steam-powered continuous track tractor

2.4 Hornsby/Holt/Phoenix
2.1

Blinov

After Lombard began operations, Hornsby in England

manufactured at least two full length track steer machines, and their patent was later purchased by Holt in
1913, allowing Holt to claim to be the inventor of the
crawler tractor.[29] Since the tank was a British concept
it is more likely the Hornsby, which had been built and
unsuccessfully pitched to their military, was the inspiration.

In 1877 Russian inventor Fyodor Abramovich Blinov created a tracked vehicle called "wagon moved on endless
rails (caterpillars).[14] It lacked self-propelling and was
horse-drawn. Blinov got a patent for his wagon the next
year. Later, in 1881-1888 he created a steam-powered
caterpillar-tractor. This self-propelled crawler was successfully tested and showed at a farmers exhibition in In a patent dispute involving rival crawler builder Best,
testimony was brought in from people including Lom1896.[14]
bard, that Holt had inspected a Lombard log hauler
shipped out to a western state by people who would later
build the Phoenix log hauler in Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
2.2 Dinsmoor
under license from Lombard. The Phoenix Centipeed
typically had a fancier wood cab, steering wheel tipped
According to Scientic American, it was Charles Dins- forward at a 45 degree angle and vertical instead of horimoor of Warren, Pennsylvania that invented a vehi- zontal cylinders.
cle that was of endless tracks. The article gives a detailed description of the endless tracks and the illustration
looks much like todays tracked vehicles.[26] The inven- 2.5 Linn
tion has been patented as No. 351,749 on November 2,
Main article: Linn tractor
1886.[27][28]

2.3

Lombard

Alvin O. Lombard of Waterville, Maine was issued a

patent in 1901 for the Lombard Steam Log Hauler that
resembles a regular railroad steam locomotive with sled
steerage on front and crawlers in rear for hauling logs in
the Northeastern United States and Canada. The haulers
allowed pulp to be taken to rivers in the winter. Prior to
then, horses could be used only until snow depths made
hauling impossible. Lombard began commercial production which lasted until around 1917 when focus switched
entirely to gasoline powered machines. A gasoline powered hauler is on display at the Maine State Museum in
Augusta, Maine.

In the meantime a gasoline powered motor home was

built by Lombard for Holman Harry (Flannery) Linn of
Old Town, Maine to pull the equipment wagon of his dog
& pony show, resembling a trolley car only with wheels
in front and Lombard crawlers in rear. Linn had experimented with gasoline and steam-powered vehicles and
six-wheel drive before this, and at some point entered
Lombards employment as a demonstrator, mechanic and
sales agent. This resulted in a question of proprietorship
of patent rights after a single rear tracked gasoline powered road engine of tricycle arrangement was built to replace the larger motor home in 1909 on account of problems with the old picturesque wooden bridges. This dispute resulted in Linn departing Maine and relocating to
Morris, New York, to build an improved, contour following exible lag tread or crawler with independent suspen-

3.1

Construction and operation

sion of halftrack type, gasoline and later diesel powered.

Although several were delivered for military use between
1917 and 1946, Linn never received any large military
orders. Most of the production between 1917 and 1952,
approximately 2500 units, was sold directly to highway
departments and contractors. Steel tracks and payload
capacity allowed these machines to work in terrain that
would typically cause the poorer quality rubber tyres that
existed before the mid-1930s to spin uselessly, or shred
completely.
Linn was a pioneer in snow removal before the practice
was embraced in rural areas, with a nine-foot steel v-plow
and sixteen foot adjustable leveling wings on either side.
Once the highway system became paved, snowplowing
could be done by four wheel drive trucks equipped by A sprocket wheel on a tank
improving tyre designs, and the Linn became an o highway vehicle, for logging, mining, dam construction, arctic
exploration, etc.
and decreases overall vehicle weight to ease transportation. Since track weight is completely unsprung, reducing
it improves suspension performance at speeds where the
2.6 Sloan
tracks momentum is signicant. In contrast, agricultural
and construction vehicles opt for a track with shoes that
Once steel cleats became unpopular on paved roads, in attach to the chain with bolts and do not form part of the
1938 a limited experiment began to bridge the gap be- chains structure. This allows track shoes to break withtween truck and tractor, a convertible vehicle patented out compromising the ability of the vehicle to move and
by Phillip Sloan, the C5 Catruk, suered design aws and decrease productivity but increases the overall weight of
limited production before it was nally abandoned.
the track and vehicle. Extra weight is an advantage when
optimizing for traction and power over speed and mobility.

3
3.1

Engineering
Construction and operation

Diagram of tracked suspension.(1=rear drive wheel (rear wheel

drive), 2=track, 3=return rollers, 4=front drive wheel (front
wheel drive), 5=road wheels, 6=idler)

Modern tracks are built from modular chain links which

together compose a closed chain. The links are jointed
by a hinge, which allows the track to be exible and wrap
around a set of wheels to make an endless loop. The
chain links are often broad, and can be made of manganese alloy steel for high strength, hardness, and abrasion resistance.[30]
Track construction and assembly is dictated by the application. Military vehicles use a track shoe that is integral to the structure of the chain in order to reduce track
weight. Reduced weight allows the vehicle to move faster

The vehicles weight is transferred to the bottom length of

track by a number of road wheels, or sets of wheels called
bogies. Road wheels are typically mounted on some form
of suspension to cushion the ride over rough ground. Suspension design in military vehicles is a major area of development; the very early designs were often completely
unsprung. Later-developed road wheel suspension offered only a few inches of travel using springs, whereas
modern hydro-pneumatic systems allow several feet of
travel and include shock absorbers. Torsion-bar suspension has become the most common type of military vehicle suspension. Construction vehicles have smaller road
wheels that are designed primarily to prevent track derailment and they are normally contained in a single bogie
that includes the idler-wheel and sometimes the sprocket.
Transfer of power to the track is accomplished by a drive
wheel, or drive sprocket, driven by the motor and engaging with holes in the track links or with pegs on them
to drive the track. In military vehicles, the drive wheel
is typically mounted well above the contact area on the
ground, allowing it to be xed in position. In agricultural
crawlers it is normally incorporated as part of the bogie.
Placing suspension on the sprocket is possible, but is mechanically more complicated. A non-powered wheel, an
idler, is placed at the opposite end of the track, primarily to tension the track, since loose track could be easily thrown (slipped) o the wheels. To prevent throwing,
the inner surface of the track links usually have vertical

3 ENGINEERING

guide horns engaging grooves, or gaps between the doubled road and idler/sprocket wheels. In military vehicles
with a rear sprocket, the idler wheel is placed higher than
the road wheels to allow it to climb over obstacles. Some
track arrangements use return rollers to keep the top of
the track running straight between the drive sprocket and
idler. Others, called slack track, allow the track to droop
and run along the tops of large road wheels. This was a
feature of the Christie suspension, leading to occasional
misidentication of other slack track-equipped vehicles.
3.1.1

Overlapping road wheels

Overlapped and interleaved road wheels of a German Tiger I

heavy tank

Many World War II German military vehicles, initially

(starting in the late 1930s) including all vehicles originally designed to be half-tracks and all later tank designs (after the Panzer IV), had slack-track systems, usually driven by a front-located drive sprocket, the track
returning along the tops of a design of overlapping and
sometimes interleaved large diameter road wheels, as on
the suspension systems of the Tiger I and Panther tanks,
generically known by the term Schachtellaufwerk in German, for both half-track and fully tracked vehicles. There
were suspensions with one (sometimes double) wheel per
axle, alternately supporting the inner and outer side of the
track, and interleaved suspensions with two or three road
wheels per axle, distributing the load over the track.[31]
The choice of overlapping/interleaved road wheels allowed the use of slightly more torsion bar suspension
members, allowing any German tracked military vehicle
with such a setup to have a noticeably smoother ride over
challenging terrain, leading to reduced wear and more accurate re. As a tracked vehicle moves, the load of each
wheel moves over the track, pushing down and forward
that part of the earth, snow, etc. under it, similarly to a
wheeled vehicle but to a lesser extent because the tread
helps distribute the load. Apparently, on some surfaces,
this consumes enough energy to slow the vehicle down
signicantly, so overlapped and interleaved wheels improve performance (including fuel consumption) by loading the track more evenly. It also must have extended
the life of the tracks and possibly of the wheels. The

An Sd.Kfz. 11's half-track units, showing the rims of its six

Schachtellaufwerk overlapped/interleaved roadwheel sets for
each track unit per side

wheels also better protect the vehicle from enemy re,

and mobility is improved when some wheels are missing.
But this complicated approach has not been used since
World War II ended. This may be related more to maintenance than to original cost. Mud and ice collect between
the overlapping areas of the road wheels, freezing solid
in cold weather conditions, often immobilizing vehicles
equipped with such Schachtellaufwerk track suspension
systems. The torsion bars and bearings may stay dry and
clean, but the wheels and tread work in mud, sand, rocks,
snow and so on. In addition, the outer wheels (up to 9
of them, some double) had to be removed to access the
inner ones. In WW II, vehicles typically had to be maintained a few months before being destroyed or captured,
but in peace time vehicles must train several crews, over
a period of decades.

3.2 Advantages
Tracked vehicles have better mobility than pneumatic
tyres over rough terrain. They smooth out the bumps,
glide over small obstacles and are capable of crossing
trenches or breaks in the terrain. Riding in a fast tracked
vehicle feels like riding in a boat over heavy swells.

3.3

Disadvantages

A Russian tracked vehicle designed to operate on snow and

swamps

Small tracks on a roadworks machine, note the rubber pads to

reduce wear on the carriageway.

Tracks are tougher than tyres since they cannot be punctured or torn. Tracks are much less likely to get stuck in
soft ground, mud, or snow since they distribute the weight
of the vehicle over a larger contact area, decreasing its
ground pressure. In addition, the larger contact area, coupled with the cleats, or grousers, on the track shoes, allows
vastly superior traction that results in a much better ability
to push or pull large loads where wheeled vehicles would
dig in. Bulldozers, which are most often tracked, use this
attribute to rescue other vehicles, (such as wheel loaders)
which have become stuck in, or sunk into, the ground.
Tracks can also give higher maneuverability, as tracked
vehicles can turn in place without forward or backward
movement by driving the tracks in opposite directions. In
addition, should a track be broken, assuming the correct Worn and new track pads on an M1 Abrams battle tank.
tools are available, it can be repaired without the need for
special facilities; something which is crucial in a combat
situation.
neath them. They are assumed to severely damage hard
The seventy-ton M1 Abrams tank has an average ground terrain like asphalt pavement, but actually have signipressure of just over 15 psi (100 kPa). Since tyre air pres- cantly lower ground pressures than equivalent or lighter
sure is approximately equal to average ground pressure, a wheeled vehicles. However, they often cause damage to
typical car will have an average ground pressure of 28 psi less rm terrain such as lawns, gravel roads, and farm
elds, as the sharp edges of the track easily rout the turf.
(190 kPa) to 33 psi (230 kPa).
Accordingly, vehicle laws and local ordinances often require rubberised tracks or track pads. A compromise between all-steel and all-rubber tracks exists: attaching rub3.3 Disadvantages
ber pads to individual track links ensures that continuous
track vehicles can travel more smoothly, quickly, and quietly on paved surfaces. While these pads slightly reduce
a vehicles cross-country traction, in theory they prevent
damage to any pavement.
Additionally, the loss of a single segment in a track immobilizes the entire vehicle, which can be a disadvantage
in situations where high reliability is important. Tracks
can also ride o their guide wheels, idlers or sprockets,
which can cause them to jam in an overly tight position
Tracked vehicles may be put on semitrailers or railway cars for or to come completely o the guide system (this is called
a 'thrown' track). Jammed tracks may become so tight
long-distance hauling.
that the track may need to be broken before a repair is
The disadvantages of tracks are lower top speed, much possible, which requires either explosives or special tools.
greater mechanical complexity, shorter life and the dam- Multi-wheeled vehicles, for example, 8 X 8 military vehiage that their all-steel versions cause to what passes be- cles, may often continue driving even after the loss of one

or more non-sequential wheels, depending on the base

wheel pattern and drive train.
Many manufacturers provide rubber tracks instead of
steel, especially for agricultural applications. Rather than
a track made of linked steel plates, a reinforced rubber belt with chevron treads is used. In comparison to
steel tracks, rubber tracks are lighter, make less noise,
create less maximal ground pressure and do not damage
paved roads. The disadvantage is that they are not as
solid as steel tracks. Previous belt-like systems, such as
those used for half-tracks in World War II, were not as
strong, and during military actions were easily damaged.
The rst rubber track was invented and constructed by
Adolphe Kgresse and patented in 1913; rubber tracks
are often called Kgresse tracks.
Prolonged use places enormous strain on the drive
transmission and the mechanics of the tracks, which must
be overhauled or replaced regularly. It is common to see
tracked vehicles such as bulldozers or tanks transported
long distances by a wheeled carrier such as a tank transporter or train, though technological advances have made
this practice less common among tracked military vehicles than it once was.

REFERENCES

5 In nature
Navicula diatoms are known for their ability to creep
about on each other and on hard surfaces such as microscope slides. It is thought that around the outside
of the naviculas shell is a girdle of protoplasm that
can ow and thus act as a tank track.

6 See also
Excavator
Half-track
Kgresse track
Pedrail wheel
Screw-propelled vehicle
Snowcat
Snowmobile
Undercarriage

3.4

Live and Dead track

Tracks may be broadly categorized as live or dead

track. Dead track is a simple design in which each
track plate is connected to the rest with hinge-type pins.
These dead tracks will lie at if placed on the ground; the
drive sprocket pulls the track around the wheels with no
assistance from the track itself. Live track is slightly
more complex, with each link connected to the next by
a bushing which causes the track to bend slightly inward.
A length of live track left on the ground will curl upward
slightly at each end. Although the drive sprocket must still
pull the track around the wheels, the track itself tends to
bend inward, slightly assisting the sprocket and somewhat
conforming to the wheels.

7 References
[1] The Tank Tread Was His Baby. Popular Science (June):
63. 1944. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
[2] Josef-Maria Hon de Wronski. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
[3] Sir George Cayleys patent universal railway. Mechanics
Magazine 5 (127): 225227. 1826-01-28.
[4] Burrells traction engine with Boydells endless railway.
Graces Guide. 1857. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
[5] Lane, Michael R. (1994). The story of the St. Nicholas
Works: A History of Charles Burrell and Sons. London:
Unicorn Press. ISBN 978-0906290071.
[6] Boydell Artillery Wheel (PDF). Retrieved 2013-09-30.

Current manufacturers

[7] Governments Experiments with Boydells TractionEngine. The Farmers Magazine (London) 45 (1). 185606-30.

The pioneer manufacturers have been replaced

mostly by large tractor companies such as AGCO, [8] Tuxfords Boydell Traction Engine (PDF). Science& SoLiebherr Group,[32] John Deere, Yanmar, New Holland,
ciety: Picture Library. UK. 1857. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
Kubota,[33] Case, Caterpillar Inc., CLAAS.[34] Also,
there are some crawler tractor companies specialising in [9] {op. cit. Michael R. Lane 1994}
niche markets. Examples are Otter Mfg. Co. and Struck [10] Clark, Ronald H. (1974). The Development of the English
Corporation.[35]
Traction Engine. Cambridge UK: Goose and Son. ISBN
0900404027.
Big Russian o-road territories forces develop and keep
[36]
[37]
tracked transporters for the country. ZZGT, Vityaz
[11] Charles Burrell & Sons Limited (PDF). University of
and some other producers cover the needs of oil and gas,
Reading. UK. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
geophysics, forestry companies and governmental ser[12] Burrell-Boydell Tractor (PDF). Retrieved 2013-09-30.
vices.

[13] Caley, Georg (1825). Patent No. 5260 A New Locomotive Apparatus (PDF). Retrieved 2013-09-30.
[14] Lozovoi, D.; Lozova, A. " (.
)" [The inventor of the tractor (F.Blinov)]. Russia in Colours (in Russian). Retrieved 2011-08-24.
[15] The Implement and Machinery Review, 1901-01-02
[16] Invention of the Caterpillar Track: Frank Beamond and
his Patents (PDF). Retrieved 2014-12-10.
[17] Lombard Log Hauler and Model T Snowmobile Show
Route 175 Thornton, NH. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
[18] British Patent No. 16,345 (1904)
[19] The Devils Chariot, John Glaneld
[20] Caterpillar history
[21] Haddock, Keith. Giant Earthmovers: An Illustrated History. MotorBooks International. pp. 17, 20, 21. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
[22] The Earthmover Encyclopedia, Page 28, Keith Haddock
[23] US patent 69987, James K Glen, Improvement in Motive
Power, issued 1867-10-22
[24] US patent 373887, William Fender, Wheel With Endless
Rail, issued 1887-11-29
[25] US patent 433488, Goldsbury Harden Pond, Traction
Engine, issued 1890-08-05
[26] Scientic American, December 18, 1886, Vol. LV, No.
25
[27] Kane, Joseph Nathan, Famous First Facts, H. W. Wilson
Company (1950), p. 47
[28] US patent 351749, Charles Dinsmoor, Vehicle, issued
1886-11-02 A design for a tracked vehicle.
[29] Caterpillar Tractor Co. List of Deals. Lehman Brothers Collection. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
2010. Archived from the original on 2010-11-06. Retrieved 2010-11-06. In 1925 Holt and C.W. Bests company merged to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company.
[30] Austenitic Manganese Steels. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
[31] Peter Chamberlain and Hilary Doyle, Encyclopedia of
German Tanks of World War II, 1999
[32] Ocial website. Liebherr. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
[33] Kubota crawler tractor. Kubota.com. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
[34] Search results for Used Tracked tractors. Mascus.co.uk.
Retrieved 2013-05-03.
[35] Burner, Ken (1997). The Small Tractor FAQ - Tractor
Resources. Carnegie Mellon University. Archived from
the original on 2012-06-22.
[36] Zavolzhsky Crawler Vehicle Plant
[37] Machine-building Company 'Vityaz'

10

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Continuous track Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_track?oldid=728684483 Contributors: The Epopt, Mav, JeLuF,

Maury Markowitz, Heron, Ericd, Patrick, Infrogmation, Gbleem, Snoyes, Lupinoid, Dysprosia, Ark30inf, David.Monniaux, AlainV, Pigsonthewing, Lowellian, Carnildo, Andries, DavidCary, MathKnight, Epsilon04, Michael Devore, Kudz75, Adamsan, Mzajac, Dj245, NegativeK, Esperant, Kmccoy, KNewman, Bender235, Circeus, Harald Hansen, Samadam, QuantumEleven, Alansohn, Anthony Appleyard,
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Sushovande, Wizard191, Iridescent, Joseph Solis in Australia, CP\M, Naudefj, Aldis90, Moilforgold, NotQuiteEXPComplete, Bobblehead,
Electron9, EdJogg, Ingolfson, Niagara, Swpb, Sigmundg, Aladdin Sane, R'n'B, Rp451, Jeepday, Mrg3105, KylieTastic, Oshwah, Trashbag, ^demonBot2, Andy Dingley, Minorhistorian, DerbyCountyinNZ, Cwkmail, ZH Evers, JL-Bot, Adam.gladysiewicz, Akeefe98, ClueBot, Buckeyehill, Enenn, John Nevard, Stewiesmom, Thewellman, Fmiser, Otr500, Jax 0677, WikHead, Mimarx, Addbot, BulldozerD11,
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