The Cockshutt 540 utility tractor was built by the

Cockshutt Plow Company Cockshutt was a large agricultural machinery manufacturer, known as Cockshutt Farm Equipment Limited (1957–1962), based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Founded as the Brantford Plow Works by James G. Cockshutt in 1877, the name was changed to the ...

, from 1958 to 1962. It was a utility successor to the

Cockshutt 20 The Cockshutt 20 row-crop tractor was the third tractor produced by the Cockshutt Plow Company, from 1951 to 1958. Having developed the medium-sized Cockshutt 30 and the heavier Cockshutt 40, the 20 was a small two-plow tractor for general use. ...

tractor, capable of operating two or three plows. Following industry trends, the 540 was styled with squared-off lines compared to the streamlined look of previous models.

Description and production

The Cockshutt 540 was the only Cockshutt tractor to be marketed as a utility tractor. In accordance with industry trends of the early 1960s, the 540 was styled with squared-off lines by industrial designer Raymond Loewy. The 540 was powered by a

Continental Motors Company Continental Motors Company was an American manufacturer of internal combustion engines. The company produced engines as a supplier to many independent manufacturers of automobiles, tractors, trucks, and stationary equipment (such as pumps, gen ...

four-cylinder gasoline engine with a six-speed transmission, sharing the transmission with the larger

550 __NOTOC__ Year 550 ( DL) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

. Although it was a utility tractor, the wheels could be adjusted in a manner similar to row-crop tractors, with power rear wheel adjust an option. A wide adjustable front axle was the only front wheel offering. The 540 came with a

three-point hitch The three-point hitch (British English: three-point linkage) is a widely used type of hitch for attaching ploughs and other implements to an agricultural or industrial tractor. The three points resemble either a triangle, or the letter A. Three-p ...

power take-off A power take-off or power takeoff (PTO) is one of several methods for taking power from a power source, such as a running engine, and transmitting it to an application such as an attached implement or separate machine. Most commonly, it is a sp ...

(PTO) and hydraulics as standard equipment. About 2,500 Cockshutt 540s were built at Cockshutt's

Brantford, Ontario Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

plant from 1958 to 1962. None were produced in 1960 due to excess inventory from previous years.Cockshutt 1999. p. 97 Base price in 1958 was CA$2,667. Cockshutt 1999. p. 103

References

{{Cockshutt tractors Cockshutt tractors Vehicles introduced in 1958 Raymond Loewy