Eicher (India)

[California]

Younger daughter is doing her semester abroad at University of Delhi, and we just came back from visiting her.

I saw a lot of tractors used in India for short-distance highway transport, including farm produce and especially bricks and building stone. The most popular models seem to be Mahindra, MF 35 and MF1035-DI, and Eicher. It was strange to wait at a highway toolbooth behind a farm tractor.

For road use they typically tow a short heavy-duty trailer with either 1 or 2 axles. Eicher's website rates their most popular model (242) to tow 2000 bricks. Their red bricks look like ours so I estimate that is a 5 ton payload. (assuming a metric brick = a 5 lb US brick).

I was surprised at the extremely low RPM's I heard. Chuff....chuff....chuff..... I learned from Eicher's website the model 242 has peak torque at 1200 rpm and maximum 1600 rpm.

Attached is a photo of an Eicher coming out of a side street on to the main highway pulling a typical load. Later I saw another loaded at least that high with granite blocks.

 

[California]

Another Eicher. The model plate on this one reads 'Eicher Goodearth".

 

[markie61]

I dig the passenger bench seats on the fenders. Looks like it could transport 5 including driver in style.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Mark

 

[California]

And an Eicher 242.

These photos are made with both the subject and the camera moving, so please excuse a little lack of sharpness!

If anyone's interested, I took about 1250 photos and can probably find examples of Mahindra, Ford, MF and some other tractors.

Also camel carts, donkey carts, three wheel taxis, jeeps used as rural taxis, trains, and lots of other fascinating machinery. I got a few photos of tractors in fields, but those were at such a great distance that they are hardly worth posting.

On this trip we stayed in New Delhi and visited Jaipur, the Taj Mahal in Agra, and finally Varanasi on the Ganges.

I bought a Canon A75 digital camera for this trip and found it ideal. I expect to get my pictures organized and posted to my family website in a few weeks. If anyone is interested, PM me for the location.

 

[California]

Eicher truck.


I think the motorcycle in the center is a Royal Enfield, also manufactured by Eicher.

 

[Kub0ta]

http://tractors.eicherworld.com/home.aspx?id=0&mid=0

These machines look pretty good

Probably better than anything China could make lol.

 

[Mac624]

The Eicher which You´ve posted the pic of, had been made when Eicher India was part of Eicher Germany...it´s the old Eicher 2 cyl. engine, aircooled, only with a simple hood. Eicher Germany didn´t exist anymore, eicher india is independent now.

 

[California]

This one was waiting next to us at a tollbooth on a cold foggy morning. At idle it seemed to fire about once per second. Then louder but not much faster when he started moving. They must have a huge flywheel.

I see on their website their smaller engine is an air cooled single-cylinder rated for peak torque at 900 to 1100 rpm. I think that was what we heard here. I doubt that he got up to 900 rpm.

What years did Eicher produce in Germany, and where was their plant?

They seem to be a major manufacturer in India now.

 

[California]

I think the cargo on the first tractor (post #537389) is several tons of concrete fencing similar to this.

I wonder what these things have for brakes!

 

[Kub0ta]

Came straight from the Eicher India website.

 

[Mac624]

They have been built in Germany since around 1936 until 1990/92. They had a cooperation with MF in the 70´and with Same in the 80` and make experiments with an Elsbett engine (using vegetable oil). The plant was in Forstern/Bavaria and they made a lot of equipment like ploughs, hayloaders etc. Take a look at the attachments...there are 2 german Eichers, built in the ending 50.

 

[California]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I dig the passenger bench seats on the fenders. Looks like it could transport 5 including driver in style.... -Mark )</font>


Attached is the picture I was looking for, showing passengers on a tractor.

I'm not sure it's an Eicher so it may belong in another brand forum ... or maybe in Safety!

 

[markie61]

Obviously THAT tractor doesn't have the passenger seats or fenders. They may not get run over by the tractor if they fall, but maybe by whatever vehicle was following them. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Mark

 

[Mac624]

Eicher plant was founded in Forstern/Bavaria beginning 30ｴby the Eicher brothers. After ww II they made lot of farmimplements, too. Ploughs, cultivators, Hayloaders etc.
They had their own aircooled engine.
In the 70ｴthey got in trouble and made cooperation with MF by building their vineyard tractors with Eicher engines. The MF/Eicher deal was a desaster for them and they ended Coop in beginning 80`.
They started to introduce the Elsbett engine (plantoil) and again, they have got in trouble.
Producing the farmtractors ended in 2000 and 2005 after some vineyard and orchard tractors Eicher was history.