The Cockshutt 550 row-crop tractor was built by the

Cockshutt Plow Company Cockshutt was a large agricultural machinery manufacturer, known as Cockshutt Farm Equipment Limited (1957–1962), based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Founded as the Brantford Plow Works by James G. Cockshutt in 1877, the name was changed to the ...

, from 1958 to 1961. It succeeded the Cockshutt 35 Golden Arrow in the Cockshutt product line, and was capable of pulling two or three plows. The new tractor was restyled in accordance with the trend toward squared-off lines, compared to earlier Cockshutt offerings. Confusingly, the 550 was replaced in 1962 by a different

Oliver Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver, ...

-built tractor, also branded as the Cockshutt 550.

Description and production

The Cockshutt 550 succeeded the Cockshutt 35 Golden Arrow as a medium-sized row-crop tractor. In accordance with industry trends of the early 1960s, the 550 was styled with squared-off lines by industrial designer

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magaz ...

. The 550 was powered by a

Hercules Engine Company Hercules Engine Corporation was an American engine manufacturer located in Canton, Ohio. History The company was founded in 1915, known at first as Hercules Motor Manufacturing Company, to build industrial engines, especially for trucks. The comp ...

four-cylinder gasoline engine with a six-speed transmission. A Hercules diesel engine was optional. The three-point hitch incorporated hydraulic depth and draft control that had been introduced in the Golden Arrow demonstrators. The 550 could be ordered with adjustable wide front wheels, narrow wheels and fixed wide front wheels 2,930 Cockshutt 550s were built at Cockshutt's

Brantford, Ontario Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

plant from 1958 to 1961.Cockshutt 1999. p. 97 Base price in 1958 was CA$2,819. Cockshutt 1999. p. 103 From 1962 the Brantford-built 550 was replaced by a rebranded

Oliver 550 The Oliver Super 55 series of utility tractors was developed and produced from 1954 to 1975 by the Oliver Farm Equipment Company to complement the Oliver line of heavy row-crop and standard agricultural tracts. Like row-crop tractors, the wheel t ...

as part of the

White Motor Company The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the com ...

takeover of both Cockshutt and Oliver.

References

{{Cockshutt tractors Cockshutt tractors Vehicles introduced in 1958 Raymond Loewy