The Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler could easily be one of the most complex farm machines I have ever used/laid eyes on. It requires detailed attention to all the springs, latches, bearings, chains, and belts. If one component is not finely tuned, there is a good chance the machine will not work. The round bale machine has some very interesting history behind… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler
Tag: Factory
AC Power Train Machining
The Allis-Chalmers West Allis Works was a vast factory complex in its day. Thousands of machined parts and equipment were being produced by the company day after day. On the northwest corner of the factory grounds, near gate 7, just off of 70th Street, was the tractor division. It was there that the Persian Orange… Continue reading AC Power Train Machining
Milwaukee’s Fire & Police Call Boxes
I have recently become fascinated with the old police/fire call boxes on street corners around Milwaukee. My fiance' is from the Milwaukee area, so we run into these old boxes in random areas around the city. I have noticed them before and didn't really think anything of it. While watching an episode of American Restoration, Rick's… Continue reading Milwaukee’s Fire & Police Call Boxes
Reason to Work at Allis-Chalmers in 1952
Allis Sanborn Maps
The American Geographical Society Library at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee has an amazing collection of Sanborn maps of Milwaukee from 1894 and 1910. The E.P. Allis Reliance Works and Allis-Chalmers Company are among the maps in this collection. Each picture below will take you to the page where they can be viewed up close.… Continue reading Allis Sanborn Maps
Construction of the West Allis Works
The merger of E.P. Allis Company, Fraser-Chalmers Works, Dickson Manufacturing Company, and Gates Iron Works formed the Allis-Chalmers Company in 1901. Following subsequently after was the decision to expand the Milwaukee Works. The E.P. Allis Company was operating out of a dated shop near Walkers Point. Location of the E.P. Allis Co. Factory Prior to 1901… Continue reading Construction of the West Allis Works
D-10 Series II Restoration
(If you would like to see some of our other restorations, click here.) Our D-10 was the 4th and most recent restoration job that we worked on. I had done some various work on it in it before the painting part of the project. My brother and I took the head off, only because the… Continue reading D-10 Series II Restoration
John Deere Letter About Allis-Chalmers
Here is some tractor history that Allis-Chalmers and John Deere enthusiasts can get interested in. The word in the AC world is that John Deere was rather pleased when Allis-Chalmers finally stopped making tractors on December 6, 1985. Rumor has it that John Deere was so thrilled that it (whoever "it" was at Deere & Co.) sent out a letter to the dealers… Continue reading John Deere Letter About Allis-Chalmers
Allis-Chalmers Tractor Production Ends
Today is a rather sad milestone in Allis-Chalmers History. On this day back in 1985 the last Allis-Chalmers tractors rolled out of the West Allis Works. The agricultural division had been sold off to Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD) of West Germany in May of that same year. The tractor plant was not included in the deal. Essentially KHD had bought production… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Tractor Production Ends
Allis-Chalmers & Civil Defense Part II
As a follow-up to my previous post, I would like to fill you in on some new information that I received from the National Archives. I sent an inquiry to the archives about Allis-Chalmers' involvement with the development of the National Emergency Alarm Repeater system (NEAR). If you haven't read that post yet, click here.… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers & Civil Defense Part II
The Weekend Historian 