Steel Wheels - a website for pre-1930s tractors

Waterloo Boy

The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. of Waterloo, Iowa grew out of an earlier company that was associated with John Froelich's early experiments in tractor design circa 1892. Two decades passed before the Waterloo Co. introduced its next tractor, the "Waterloo Boy One-Man Tractor", which was a prairie giant yielding around 25 hp. The company soon moved towards more lightweight machines, and its 12-24 "Waterloo Boy" released in 1914 was the shape of things to come: it used a two-cylinder horizontal engine with a mid-mounted radiator and the fuel tank positioned up front. This tractor formed the basis for the Waterloo Boy Model R (single-speed) and Model N (two-speed), which proved highly successful and sold in large numbers. In 1918 the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. was purchased by John Deere, who continued to produce Waterloo Boy tractors until the mid 1920s. Waterloo Boy tractors were also sold in the UK by Associated Engineers as the "Overtime".

(Click on images below to enlarge)

Waterloo Boy Model R with John Deere single-row corn picker at the John Deere Collectors Center, Moline, Illinois (USA) in 2004.

Waterloo Boy Model N at the John Deere Pavilion, Moline, Illinois (USA) in 2004.

Waterloo Boy Model N at the Heidrick Ag History Center, Woodland, California (USA) in 2005.

Waterloo Boy Model N at the Conservatoire de l'Agriculture - Le Compa, Chartres (France) in 2007.

Waterloo Boy Model N at Onslow Park Rally, Shropshire (UK) in 2007.

Waterloo Boy Model N at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, Vista, California (USA) in 2008.

Waterloo Boy Model N at the Vooroorlogse Tractorshow Bergeijk (Netherlands) in 2008.

Waterloo Boy Model N at Onslow Park Rally, Shropshire (UK) in 2008. This tractor was originally imported into the UK and sold as an Overtime, but was later restored as a Waterloo Boy.