Long-time readers are familiar with Glenn Karch’s monthly
writings on the various offerings from the famed Hercules Gas
Engine Co. of Evansville, Ind. Every month Glenn gives readers
restoration tips, parts interchange options, specific model
information, production output information and design change
information for the various engines produced by Hercules. This
issue marks Glenn’s 10th year of writing about Hercules-built
engines for Gas Engine Magazine, and I’ll bet when he wrote
that first column he never knew how long he’d stay at it.
In Glenn’s first column in the June 1992 issue of GEM, his
opening paragraph said: ‘When you consider the models, fuel
types, sizes, brands, options and miscellaneous changes thrown in,
the picture becomes complex … In this article and those to come,
it is hoped that an interesting story will unfold.’ I’d say
the word ‘complex’ has proven to be a bit of an
understatement, and there’s no question that an interesting
story has been steadily unfolding. Better yet, it’s still being
told. So congratulations to Glenn, whose dogged determination to
ferret out every nuance of the Hercules Gas Engine Co. has been a
windfall to the rest of us in the old iron community.
As ever, I look forward to your comments and questions about
Gas Engine Magazine. Contact me anytime at (785) 274-4379,
1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609-1265, or via e-mail at:
rbackus@ogdenpubs.com.
