20601 Old State Road Haubstadt, Indiana 47639
Gas engine carts were designed by Hercules, but it appears that
the carts and saw rigs were actually built and shipped from
elsewhere. One of the cart suppliers, and perhaps the major one,
was the Peru Plow and Wheel Company of Peru, Illinois. In several
Sears catalogs, it is variously stated that carts and saw rigs are
shipped from northern Illinois or near Chicago. These carts and saw
rigs were also shipped to various warehouses for quicker delivery
of an order.
The drop frame cart used for the 5 through 12 HP size engines
was some what unique to Hercules built engines in that it was never
used much by other engine manufacturers. Although they looked
similar, the drop frame carts used by others seldom had the same
dimensions as those used for Hercules built engines.
In the beginning, the drop frame cart was built up in two sizes
for Hercules. There was a size for the 5 and 7 HP engines and
another size for the 9 and 12 HP size engines. The chart below
gives specifications. It should be kept in mind that the expression
‘subject to change without notice’ may apply from time to
time.
Engine size | Axle diam. | Frame Length | Size of channel | Wheel diam. | Tire Width |
5-7 | 1? | 8′ 6′ | 5′ | 24-32′ | 4′ |
9-12 | 1? | 9′ | 6′ | 26-36′ | 5′ |
In 1919 separate carts were made for the 9 and 12 HP size
engines. The 9 HP had the smaller wheel size. The 12 HP engine size
axle was increased to 2′. By 1924 only one size cart was
offered for both the 9 and 12 HP size engines. It had the smaller
wheel size. In order to put a 5 HP size engine on a cart that was
large enough for the 7 HP size engine, special adapter plates were
used. The same applied to putting a 9 HP engine on a cart large
enough for the 12 HP size engine. These plates were made of heavy
sheet iron, and it required two of them. They were bolted to the
cart holes for the larger size engine and had two holes to adapt to
the smaller size engine. These latter two holes were made for
recessed head ‘plow’ type bolts for bolting down the
smaller size engine. The typical drop frame cart is shown here
(above). These carts were for team port able use.
Engine size | Axle dia. | Frame length | Wheel dia. | Tire width |
1? | ?’ pipe | 33′ | cast 9′ | 2′ |
2?-3 | 1? | 52′ | 14-20′ | 2?’ |
5 | 1? | 57′ | 14-20′ | 3? |
Portable Horse-Drawn Outfit
This outfit is exactly the same as the saw outfit illustrated
and described above [in the catalog], except that it is not
furnished with the steel tilting table saw frame, belting, and belt
idler. Furnished in 6 and 8 horsepower size.
Hand portable carts were available for the 1, 2-3 and 5 HP size
engines. Again, the specifications changed from time to time. In
the beginning, the following (above) specifications apply.
All the above carts had steel wheels with cast hubs.
Engine size | Frame length | Axle size | Cast wheel size |
1? | 26′ | ?’ pipe | 9′ x 2′ rim |
2?-3 & 5 | 46′ | 1?’ solid | 14’x 2?’ rim |
Later the 5 HP size cart would be shortened to 54′ with
2′ tire size. In 1920 these small carts were redesigned with
new specifications as shown at the bottom of the center column.
An example of the hand portable engine carts is shown below.
Hand Portable Outfit
This illustration shows the Hercules hand portable outfit which
is made by attaching a l , 2, 3 or 6 H.P. engine to a truck. Wheels
of truck are heavy cast iron. Axle is extra heavy and reinforced
and an engine mounted in this manner will always do the same work
as a stationary engine and at times is far more convenient.
