Ashley,
There a couple of members who have first hand experience of buying farm equipment. I’ll let them fill in the details of how the processed worked.
Below is my experience over the last 30 plus years purchasing John Deere’s larger lawn equipment. The type that isn’t handled by the big box hardware stores. When I’m looking for a new piece of equipment I go to a local JD dealer,spend time with the sales guys defining exactly which model I need, negotiate a price and then wait for item to arrive and be serviced. I believe the farming side is similar. But today I’m told many larger farmers lease their equipment instead of owning.
All farm equipment dealers have large maintenance operations for equipment owners.
Since your working on the I.H. Aurora branch office here are more details learned from a BRHS member who contacted after Bulletin 51 was published. This overview and much more detail are in the BRHS members only section of our web site. Since you aren’t a member here are the highlights.
- Aurora Branch was what today we’d call a distribution center. It closed in 1953. -handled around 400 carloads of equipment, implements and smaller appliances per year. -office served 75 IH dealers throughout northern Illinois from Bloomington to the Wisconsin border. - the dealers would come to the Aurora office and take their equipment back to their dealership.
Leo Phillipp
On Sep 3, 2020, at 5:12 PM, Ashley Sarver <asarver@studiogwa.com> wrote:
Hi there,
This bulletin proved very helpful to a team member of mine a few years ago as we did research for the Middle Avenue/Alley Job Historic District in Aurora, IL. Please excuse my
ignorance on this topic, as I am still learning more each time I do research on buildings on the important role of rail – however, I am no rail expert. I have another building I am working on getting listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the
original International Harvester building at 6-12 N River St. in Aurora.
Now, I am seeking information about the role of the rail in the agricultural implements business. Does anyone have a resource, or can provide anecdotal insight into how it was
that these large implements were sold; i.e. a farmer walks into a farm implement showroom (ala International Harvester) and decides to purchase a tractor. How was it that that tractor got to their farm? Or how was it that that farmer might have gotten that
machinery repaired? The rail is obviously critical to their business model as almost all IH stores are located along a rail line. In Aurora, that’s the CB&Q. But I need to get more details on the purchasing/marketing/logistics of the purchase, sale, and delivery
of equipment.
Thank you in advance!
Ashley
<image001.png>
Ashley Sarver
Senior Urban Planner
O: 815-963-1900 | C: 815-315-3452 |
www.studiogwa.com
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