Jim Iverson from Carlisle, Iowa, had a rare a blue Lessmann loader tractor from 1948 in Des Moines to display at this year’s Penfield, Ill., Historic Days Show. The seldom-seen tractor has been preserved by the Lessmann family and friends in memory of Jim’s father, George.

“This Lessmann tractor was built in the factory by hand,” Jim shared. “It is a loader with four-wheel hydraulic brakes and hydraulic steering. It has 100 horsepower, a Ford Flathead V8 and was used for loading trucks.”

This unique loader weighs in at a whopping 9,300 pounds, without the wheel weights. “The patent ‘power crowd’ hydraulic system is rated at 15,000 pounds,” Jim explained. “It allows the operator to hold the brakes and use hydraulic power to break out harder materials and also allows for more height and extension for loading trucks.

“The Lessmann has four speeds forward and four speeds reverse transmission. The other two cheaper Lessmann models had four speeds forward, but only one speed reverse and also did not come with hydraulic steering or front wheel brakes.”

Jim’s daughter, Judy Moren, added, “We have been taking it to shows for over 10 years and so far, we have only seen one other Lessmann at a show and only know of a few others in the United States.”

While there is not a lot of information available on the Lessmann tractor, Jim did say, “Henry Ford Sr. and Herb Lessmann were inventors that went to college together.” (Herbert F. Lessmann hand-built this loader at his company in Des Moines.)

“The Lessmann loader was bought around 1957 by my father, George Iverson,” Jim said. “He purchased it from Iowa Power and Light Company, along with two other pieces of equipment. All three pieces of equipment were painted orange for the power company.”

Collecting a loader came naturally to Jim, who grew up running equipment around the family acreage.

“Dad has always operated some type of equipment,” Judy said. “When he was young, he operated farm equipment and the machines his dad, George, bought, and after high school he went to work operating heavy equipment, and still does.”

Jim’s brother, Allen, who owned a trucking company in Norwalk, Iowa, hauled materials for construction and farming purposes and loaded trucks. “He even used the Lessmann loader tractor to grade a church parking lot in town,” Jim said.

“It has always been a ‘working’ tractor,” Jim said, “and not a ‘show’ tractor, so there was not a lot of work to be done on it before its first show in 1998. We took the cab off to paint the tractor.”

Judy explained, “We did not want anyone to confuse it with an Allis Chalmers, Case, et cetera, so he wanted a color that people would see and wonder ‘What is that?’ and come over to see it.

We joked around about different colors until it was decided if I was going to inherit the Lessmann, it should at least be my favorite color.”

Besides the paint job, the brakes required a bit of work and the tires and windows were replaced. “In 1998, the blue Lessmann loader officially became a member of Jim Iverson’s ‘Seldom Seen Machines,’” as Judy refers to her father’s collection.

“Dad bought a second Lessmann loader several years ago that does not have a cab on it, but has a larger material bucket.”

This “working tractor” is still used helping on projects for friends and family. Without a doubt, the Lessmann loader was an attention grabber at the Historic Days show and fit in perfectly with the historic construction theme.

This year’s show was also the site of the Historical Construction Equipment Assoc.’s 26th annual International Convention.

(Editor’s note: In Cindy’s Aug. 17 column, there was a photo of a Jumbo tractor incorrectly identified as a Grand (sic) Bradley – just to set the record straight.)

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.