The Weekend Historian
While doing research on some other Allis-Chalmers topics, I stumbled across an interesting article in the A-C Scope, an employee publication from Allis-Chalmers. It highlighted the visit of the delegation of manufacturing representatives and government officials from the Soviet Union. Here is a transcription of the article from the November/December 1959 issue of the publication.… Continue reading The Soviets at the West Allis Works
Terre Haute Works circa 1960 (Courtesy of the Milwaukee County Historical Society) The Allis-Chalmers Corporation was once a leader in the American industrial scene. The company is probably most known for its iconic Persian Orange colored farm equipment, but that was just one speck of the more extensive line of precision machinery it made in… Continue reading There and Gone: The Short History of the Allis-Chalmers Terre Haute Works -Part I
Ahhh, the sweet smell of tilled earth in the spring! https://www.instagram.com/reel/CdjT5G7g1SV/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
I ran across this interesting article about the Deutz-Allis 9170. It was one of the first tractors made by the newly formed Deutz-Allis Corp. after the buyout of the Allis-Chalmers agricultural line. As Allis-Chalmers struggled in the 1980s the company looked to sell divisions off to stay in the black. Unfortunately, the manufacture of the… Continue reading Collateral Damage: The Deutz-Allis 9170
I am a volunteer at our county historical society, and we were donated a couple photos that have/may have ties to Allis-Chalmers. One photo is marked that it is an AC tractor axle. The other I am not sure of. It appears that these were both military contracted projects. I hope someone reading this will… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Mystery Photos
I put together a small exhibit in the display case at work. It feels great to get this stuff out again, and maybe I will get someone else interested in AC!
I stumbled across this article that was published two years ago. I know my fair share about AC, but I learned a few more facts from this article! Our business history articles often focus on the consumer products and services industries with which we all interact – from auto companies to department stores. Yet… Continue reading Forgotten Industrial Giant: The Allis-Chalmers Story – The American Business History Center
I bet many of you have one of those, “ahhhh I wish I hadn’t missed out on that,” moments. That’s exactly how I feel about not getting the chance to see this tow tractor that Allis-Chalmers had at the proving grounds. These units were towed, several at a time, behind behind tractors to… Continue reading AC Proving Grounds Tow Tractor
Okay, so it's officially winter in Wisconsin with our first significant snowfall of the year. Yeah, we got a little snow last weekend, but it was barely enough to cover the ground and melted the next day. We are getting a good dose of snow this weekend--6 to 8 inches by the time it's all… Continue reading Bring on the Snow!
Every now and then I learn something new about Allis-Chalmers. One of those new tidbits I have recently discovered is the betatron lab the company had at the West Allis Works. Last year I had the opportunity to step inside this old testing lab and see some of the equipment left behind. The machine was essentially… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Betatron Lab
Austin M. Frederick 