Q. How long have you been collecting gas engines?
A. I have had engines since I was born. Most people from engine shows remember me from being on the cover of GEM in May 2000.
Q. What attracted you to the hobby?
A. I went to engine shows with my dad and grandfather. I was two weeks old at my first engine show. There’s not a weekend in the summer that we are not at a show.
Q. Who else in your family collects engines?
A. My grandfather, great-grandfather, dad, cousins and uncle.
Q. What engines do you have in your collection?
A. Currently I own eight engines: 1-1/2 HP Hercules, 1-1/2 HP John Deere, 3 HP John Deere, 1 HP Titan Jr., 1-1/2 HP International M, 3 HP International M, 6 HP International M and 1 HP Gray.
Q. What is your favorite engine in your collection?
A. The Titan Jr. is my favorite because I always wanted one and the one I have I restored as a FFA project.
Q. Which shows do you normally attend each year? What show haven’t you been to yet that you’d like to see one day?
A. I usually go to Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show (Portland, Ind.), Coolspring Power Museum (Coolspring, Pa.), Mason-Dixon Historical Society Steam and Gas Round-Up (Westminster, Md.), Kingsdale Gas Engine Show (Pennsylvania), South Mountain Antique Engine Show at the Apple Blossom Festival (Arendtsville, Pa.), Maryland Steam Historical Society Steam and Gas Engine Show (Arcadia, Md.), Loyalsock Valley Antique Machinery Show (Pennsylvania), Tuckahoe Steam & Gas Assn. Show (Maryland) and many more around where I live or within driving distance.
Q. What are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve come across in the hobby?
A. Saving the money to buy engines and finding an engine that my grandfather Sam Harman doesn’t have.
Q. What are your favorite engines and why?
A. My favorite engines are International engines. They are what my great-great-grandfather started out with and my grandfather has a big collection of them. I think International engines look the best.
Q. If money weren’t an issue, what is your dream engine to own?
A. My grandfather’s 6 HP Titan sideshaft tank-cooled engine. I know I will not have to buy one because some day all my grandfather’s engines will belong to me.
For more information, email Tyler Harman at backoff2000@netzero.net.
Young Iron is looking for gas engine collectors, age 35 and younger. If you or someone you know would like to be profiled, please contact Associate Editor Beth Beavers: (800) 682-4704 or bbeavers@gasenginemagazine.com.
