Eric Long National Museum of American Hist
An engine compartment without an engine and a hood reminiscent of a refrigerator. Not your typical tractor. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian website. Tractor. Allis-Chalmers fuel cell tractor.
There’s a sedan, and I think I saw a hatchback wagon-type thing today, all white. It’s a wild look head-on, lacking the grille since it serves no purpose. Why not lime green, orange, bright blue, lightning bolts down the sides? Something? Nope, white like a fleet vehicle. It’s honestly the only EV or hybrid that I can pick out from a distance without having to check the badging, so I guess there’s that. White and smooth? Obviously a Tesla. The EV thing is nothing new, as we all know. There was the Citicar from the disco era, and further back yet was Detroit Electric a century ago. Can we count Power Wheels? Sure, they’re cars for kids. Golf carts? Why not. Tractors? Absurd. There were no electric tractors, except of course for the Allis-Chalmers Fuel Cell Tractor.
It certainly is odd looking, isn’t it? A real front-heavy approach to the traditional tractor and exactly like the Tesla: no grille. Basically, it was an electric tractor, but it charged with chemistry, not electricity.
There were nine fuel cells per unit, and one-hundred and twelve units, for a total of one-thousand and eight fuel cells. What is a fuel cell? Well, it’s a battery as much as it isn’t a battery. How does it work? I don’t even hardly know, myself, but I’ll try to dissect the easier explanations.
Behind the driver, there’s a cylinder full of propane. Under the driver, there’s two additional cylinders, and I believe one has hydrogen in it, while the other has oxygen. The three gases are metered into the array of fuel cells, where some sort of catalyst causes a chemical reaction that produces electricity. Or I’m wrong. Even if I got the chemistry wrong, electricity is generated somehow, and is used to light up an Allis-Chalmers twenty-horsepower electric motor.
Unlike an internal combustion engine where there’s noise and exhaust smoke, here there is virtual silence and a little bit of carbon dioxide and water. Also, I believe the efficiency of the fuel used is much greater.
So what’s the problem? This was 1959, surely this should be mainstream by now. Pressurized cylinders have always had the stigma of being dangerous, so that’s one strike. Secondly, the catalyst used has to contain a certain percentage of platinum, which isn’t exactly cheap or abundant. Third, this was 1959, when a farmer could fix any piece of equipment they owned with like five different tools and no science degree.
I’ve done a fair bit of research on this over the past week, and I wouldn’t dare touch one. The last thing that I’ll note is the instrument cluster. The old picture isn’t real clear, but it appears that there are sixteen individual gauges to keep track of who knows what. I know if I have something that might cause trouble, I’ll add a gauge to watch it. Allis-Chalmers added sixteen to the prototype, so there’s definitely a reason behind them all. Try driving a straight line and watching all of those.
I still think it’s cool, though, and so does the rest of the world, as it has VIP parking in the Smithsonian Museum ever since Allis-Chalmers donated it to them. Bet no one needs to blow the bird turds off of it, unlike most other antique tractors.
Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk
