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thePeorian.com
O
n a warm July morn-
ing, as workers were
starting their day in the
cavernous new Caterpillar Visi-
tors Center that was still under
construction, amidst the general
clamor of hammers and buzz
saws, a small, unassuming gray
Caterpillar tractor was unloaded
by a forklift off a trailer.
Even though this machine was
dwarfed by its environment –
particularly the Center’s replica
of a Cat® 797 Mining Truck,
which serves as a 70-person
theater – it quickly became the
center of attention. That’s because
this little gray machine was a
1928
Caterpillar Model Twenty
Tractor restored to the way it
would have looked when it came
off the assembly line – even down
to the bolts and the wiring.
While the machine looked
pristine as it was placed in its
new home just opposite of the
797
theater, it certainly didn’t
look that way when Kent Bates
received it from donor Ted
Halton of Portland, Ore., in 2007.
Bates has been restoring vintage
machines his whole life and has
a special interest in Caterpillar
machines. He’s also a member of
the Antique Caterpillar Machin-
ery Owners Club.
AN ANTIQUE CATERPILLAR
FINDS A NEW HOME
Kevin Kizer
The Future
Kent Bates, center, shows the Cat Twenty tractor he restored with the help of Rob Getz, left, and Payne Green. The
Twenty is now on display at the Caterpillar Visitors Center, which opened Oct. 20 in downtown Peoria in a display that
showcases equipment from the company’s past, its present and that looks to its future.
