Soft soil led to the development of a tracked tractor to maintain traction without sinking, as well as a very well-known company, the Caterpillar Tractor Company. At the turn of the last century, Benjamin Holt of Stockton, CA, was a leading manufacturer of steam traction engines. These machines operated on the same principle as a steam locomotive, with a boiler providing steam to engines that powered the wheels upon which it traveled. These machines were used in a wide variety of applications, including construction, logging, heavy overland hauling and agriculture.
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