Wheels vs. Glides
I grew up with a Compact C-2, and I own a TriStar CXL, so I've experienced both glides and wheels.
On the C-2, the wheels were at the rear, furthest away from the hose, so what you did was lift up on the hose a bit and that lifted the front off the glides, leaving the rear wheels free to turn as you then pulled the vacuum along.
On the CXL, you just tug on the hose and the machine begins to follow you.
I am absolutely amazed at my CXL, not because of the changes between that machine and earlier ones, but because of how FEW changes were needed to make a 1940s design fully up-to-date in the 1980s, when the CXL was made. The original Compact design was a masterpiece of engineering - strong, light for its time, simple and robust.
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