Crawlers were developed initially to provide a larger "footprint" for the heavy traction engines of the 1800s.  These large machines were becoming more popular with farmers but tended to sink into softer ground on normal wheels.  Some of these early crawlers weighed over 40,000 pounds and took four men to operate but they soon gained acceptance in the logging industry.  The further development of the internal combustion engine around and after World War 1,  led to a massive reduction in size and weight needed to provide the necessary tractive power. 

Crawlers and Bulldozers

People unacustomed to dealing with these types of machines often get an important point wrong. They often refer to a tracklaying tractor (crawler) as a bulldozer whether it has a blade on it or not. The term "bulldozer" actually refers only to the blade of a crawler, not the crawler + blade combination but this distinction has blurred over time and now it's more common to refer to a crawler with a front mounted blade as a bulldozer. So - a crawler is a crawler unless it's got a dozer blade fitted, then it becomes a bulldozer.

The name "Bulldozer"

I found this information on Walter's Caterpillar Equipment Page

Around 1880, the common usage of "bull-dose" in the United States meant administering a large and efficient dose of any sort of medicine or punishment. If you "bull-dosed" someone, you gave him a severe whipping or coerced or intimidated him in some other way, often with firearms. This must have happened pretty often, because in 1886, with a slight variation in spelling, a "bulldozer" had come to mean both a large-caliber pistol and the person who wielded it. In short, these were people and weapons that got things done in an efficient, if somewhat blunt, manner. Anything that got in their way was leveled. So, naturally, by the late 1800s, "bulldozing" came to mean using brawny force to push over, or through, any obstacle.

It wasn’t really until 1930, after the introduction of the "crawler" or "track-type" tractor, that the term bulldozing also came to be commonly associated with the act of earth moving, specifically by using a large, slightly curved, steel blade attached to the front of a tractor to push things around.

Caterpillar

One of the biggest names in crawlers has been Caterpillar.  Caterpillars' roots start at C.H. Holt & Company back in 1865.  They demonstrated their first steam crawler in 1904 and it was here that a photographer hired by Holt, Charles Clements, said "She crawls along like a caterpillar".  Holt thought this was appropriate and soon after, registered the name as a trade mark.    

The D2 came into being in 1938, was upgraded to 32 drawbar horsepower in 1947 and up to 35 HP in 1954.  There was also a petrol version as well, known as the R2 although the R2 started production in 1934.  The R2 had a 13 inch track and was rated at 25 belt horse power.The D2 pictured here is a 5U model.

The Caterpillar 15 began production in 1928 with a 221 cubic inch engine and weighs a touch under 6,000 pounds.

The Cat 10 went into production also in 1928 and had an engine of 143 cubic inch displacement.  It was the smallest Cat made and was upgraded in 1933 to just over 15 HP and became the new model Cat 15 and the old Cat 15 was upgraded to become the new Cat 20.  It had a standard tread of 37.5 inches but other sizes were available as options. Most were painted grey but yellow was available on request.

The Caterpillar 20 was introduced in 1927 and was the first crawler made by the newly formed Caterpillar company following the merger of Best and Holt.

John Deere

John Deere didn't actually produce their own crawler until 1949.  Prior to that JD crawlers were converted tractors with the conversions carried out by The Lindeman Company.   One of the first crawlers produced in this way was the GPO and a long association between JD and Lindeman continued until 1946 when John Deere bought out the Lindeman brothers (but kept Jesse Lindeman on a retainer) and started their own crawler production.   The first real JD crawler was the MC which weighed about 4,000 pounds and had 22 horsepower.

The John Deere Lindeman BO came into production around 1933.  It was a John Deere Model B tractor which was sent without wheels to the Lindeman Company of Yakima, Washington, who fitted them with tracks, primarily for use in apple orchards.  They were a good seller and had excellent hillside stability but were discontinued in 1947.

The John Deere 40C started life in 1947 and is based on the John Deere 40.   It had a 100cui engine and produced about 24 HP.  It had an improved track system over it's predecessor the MC, with resultant improvements in stability, traction and when using a dozer blade.  They sold well for use in forestry and logging and were superseded in 1956 by the JD 420C.

Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers started off as a steam engine, mining equipment and saw mill equipment producer.  In 1913 they started production of tractors and in 1929 brought out their first crawler.  In 1949 Allis Chalmers began using GM 2 stroke supercharged diesels in their crawlers making them the most powerful crawlers to date.  They were capable of pulling 97% of their total weight (28,750 pounds).

In 1901 Edwin Allis and William Chalmers merged their two companies to form Allis-Chalmers.  After going into receivership in 1913 the company was run by General Otto Falk and in 1928 they bought out the Monarch Tractor Company.   Originally brought out by Monarch as the Model 35, the Model K was re-named as such after the takeover.  The Model 35 had a steering wheel which was soon replaced with levers when it became the Model K.

In 1932 Allis-Chalmers brought out the Model M.  It was a 32 horsepower tractor with a total weight of 6,620 pounds.  The engine on the Model M was upgraded in 1937 by increasing the bore from 4.37 inches to 4.5 inches.

Cletrac

Cletrac was originally the Cleveland Tractor Company with roots in sewing machines, steam engines, steam cars and internal combustion engines.  In 1911 they released their first crawler and in 1918 changed to the name Cletrac.  The sons of the founder of the company also went on the produce trucks - namely White Trucks.

The Model F as pictured here began production in 1920 and had a floating roller chain inside the track which eliminated the need for bogie wheels.  It weighed about 1900 pounds and could pull 90% of it's own weight.

Holt Benjamin Holt was one of the founders of Caterpillar but he had a history of involvement with crawlers and tractors before the name Caterpillar was even thought of, much less used on his machines.  He began building steam tractors in 1890 and by 1902 was well into development of a crawler.  In 1904 he had his first public display of a steam crawler and by 1908 had switched to internal combustion engines.

Ransomes Ransomes began back in 1789 and was involved in the production of tillage tools and later, portable steam engines.  The first of their market garden crawlers was the MG2 released in 1936.  It was 6 feet long, weighed 1000 pounds and had a 6hp engine.  The MG 5 came out in 1949 and in 1950, the MG 6 was released with a 2 stroke, single cylinder diesel.  Ransomes stopped producing crawlers in 1966 by which time they had sold over 15,000 all over the world.      For more Ransomes info; Click Here

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