20601 Old State Road Haubstadt, Indiana 47639
Yours truly attended and exhibited at the Tri-State Gas Engine
and Tractor Show held at Portland, Indiana, August 23-27. Among the
2500 engines on display there were over 100 Hercules and related
engines. Sixty-four engines, not known before, were added to the
list, including three ARCO, ten Jaeger, thirty-one Economy, sixteen
Hercules, one Hercules oil engine, one Plessisville and two Sparta
Economys.
There were several engines of interest. Engine number 197934, 1
E Hercules, is one of those seldom seen two-piece engines that were
made primarily for export. They could be broken down into parts
weighing less than 50 pounds each for easy transport into remote
areas.
Engine number 10274, a 9 HP model UA Hercules oil engine, was
offered for sale. It had the seldom seen sheet metal crankcase
enclosure. It was started several times for prospective buyers.
Engine number 1524, a 6 HP built in Plessisville, Quebec, is one
of 83 6 HP engines built there in 1921. This engine offered for
sale has many parts interchangeable with the regular 5 HP and 6 HP
Hercules and Economy engines. The most notable difference from the
USA engines are the location of the exhaust opening and the type of
speed control lever.
Engine number 287574 is an 8 HP Jaeger built in 1923. It is
unique in that it has a half base similar to those offered on
Hercules and Economy engines in 1914-15 for mounting on straight
frame carts. It also has special heavier than normal flywheels.
Jaeger engines of this size are scarce and this one was likely
custom built for some special concrete machinery operation such as
a stationary mixing setup.
Engine number 1152 is a 2 – 3 HP Hercules model JI. JI models,
especially the large size, are seldom seen and most J models are
the JK kerosene engines. The 1152 is also the lowest J model serial
number so far observed.
Two engines, a 2 S Jaeger, number 368918 and a 1 S Economy
number 356776, both had the traditional Hercules shaped water
hoppers. As engine production slowed in 1927 and Jaeger production
was about to cease and Economy XK models were to be introduced, all
small block engines shared the Hercules shaped hopper.
I also attended and exhibited at The Old Threshers Reunion at
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, August 30 to September 2. There appeared to be
about 1000 engines on display there. About twenty were Hercules and
related engines. Four Hercules and three Economys, not seen before,
were added to the list.
Engine number 18271 is a 3 HP (rerated from 2 HP) model XK
Economy. This is the highest serial number observed so far for an X
model.
Engine number 3999 is an 8 HP model XK Economy built in 1928. It
is very similar to the 7 HP and 8 HP Hercules engines except that
it is throttling governed, has three holes rather than spoked
flywheels and is painted red rather than green.
At these two shows it was nice to meet for the first time so
many people who have sent correspondence, called on the phone or
read the Hercules Engine News.
