The Case 450 and Case 850 belong to Case’s crawler tractors, the tracked machines the company sold for earthmoving rather than farming. Case built full-tracked tractors long before it bought its way into construction equipment, and the sources used here describe that line as a whole.
Case 450 at a glance
| Maker | J. I. Case Company, Racine, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Type | crawler (tracked) tractor |
| Use | earthmoving and construction work |
| Company line | construction equipment, the company’s main business from the 1950s |
| 1957 | Case took over the American Tractor Corporation, a construction equipment maker |
| Military work | full-tracked tractors and scoop loaders for the US Army |
| Crawler dozers | listed among the products of the Case construction line |
| Engine and output | not stated in the sources used here |
The models themselves are not described in the sources; the page gives the line they belong to.
History of the Case 450
Tracks rather than wheels
Crawler tractors run on continuous tracks instead of wheels, which gives them grip and spreads their weight on soft ground. Case sold them as part of its construction equipment, in the same catalogue as backhoe loaders, wheel loaders and excavators.
How Case got into construction
The company had built earthmoving machinery for the US military before the war and its construction line became its primary business in the 1950s. In 1957 it took over the American Tractor Corporation, a maker of construction equipment, which added to what Case could offer contractors.
What the sources say
The Case construction page lists crawler dozers among the machines the company produces and describes the range as a whole. It does not set out the 450 and 850 individually, so this page does not give their power, weight or years of production.
Design and features
- Crawler layout: tracks instead of wheels, for grip and low ground pressure.
- Construction line: sold with the earthmoving machinery that became Case’s main business.
- Military pedigree: Case had supplied tracked tractors and scoop loaders to the US Army.
- 1957 expansion: the American Tractor Corporation purchase widened the Case construction range.
Case 450 versions
- Case 450: the smaller of the two models described here.
- Case 850: the larger crawler.
- Case crawler dozers: the rest of the tracked line listed by the company.
- Case wheel loaders and backhoes: the wheeled construction machines sold alongside them.
Wheeled Case earthmovers are on the pages for the Case 580 and the Case 621 and 721. The crawler loaders are described with the Case Uni-Loader. All of them are in the Case section.
Sources
- Case Corporation, English Wikipedia: construction business, military equipment
- Case Corporation, German Wikipedia: 1957 American Tractor Corporation
- Case Construction Equipment, English Wikipedia: crawler dozers, 1957 Construction King
