The featured gas engines for 2024 at the Midwest Old Threshers in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, will be fractional horsepower engines, or engines of less than 1hp.
In order for an engine to be capable of providing the needed power to run tools and machines, it has to put out sufficient power. Most manufacturers by 1900 were focused on building gasoline engines of two horsepower and upwards. However, a few companies took a different approach and began offering engines of less than 1hp, making engines of 3/4hp, 1/2hp, and even 1/4hp.
The big producers ignored fractional horsepower engines, leaving the segment to new companies. Carlisle & Finch of Cincinnati, Ohio, was an early entrant in 1897, offering 1/4hp engines as casting kits for $15, and later as complete operational engines. They claimed the engine was just the right size to run a lathe or small dynamo and would do so at less expense than an electric motor or steam engine. Over the next decade, several other companies would bring other unique versions of small engines to market as well.
By the 1910s, the engine marketplace really got interesting. Competition was driving prices lower and lower, and most companies, including the large ones, brought smaller 1hp and 1-1/2hp engines to the market. Some companies also brought new fractional horsepower engines, including New Holland of Pennsylvania with a 1/2hp model, Gilson of Wisconsin with a 3/4hp Pony, and Chicago Flexible Shaft Co. of Illinois with its Stewart Little Major 1/2hp upright model.
Elgin Wheel & Engine Co. of Elgin, Illinois, introduced small, two-cycle upright engines to the market in 1911. Advertised initially as great gifts for your boy, as they were instructive, useful and entertaining, and may be profitable by providing power to items around the farm or home. Fred Maytag happened upon an Elgin engine on display on a Chicago business trip. The idea of a washing machine with an engine, led to Maytag purchasing Elgin engines, and eventually the company. Maytag went on to make over a million fractional horsepower engines, with production ending in 1952.
Another of the big success stories for small-power engines also began in the 1910s. First offered in 1914 in the U.S., the Smith motor wheel was a unique engine coupled with a wheel for the powering of a bicycle or small vehicle. Briggs & Stratton purchased the Smith Motor Wheel in 1919 and enjoyed good sales for a few years. Looking for new markets, they developed a stationary version of the engine in 1920. This became the prime product for Briggs & Stratton, with many models and variations developed. Engines of 1/2hp and 3/4hp were offered from the early 1920s on into the 1930s.
Attendees at the 2024 Old Threshers reunion are looking forward to seeing a large variety of the featured engines at the 2024 show. Maytag and Briggs & Stratton engines survived in great quantities. Examples of many of the other manufacturers of fractional horsepower engines also survived. Other small engines, such as model gas engines, are included in the feature for the year.
Featured Gas Engine Exhibitors for 2024
Our featured gas engine exhibitors for 2024 are brothers, Dan and Tim Reynolds, and their dad Alan. Dan is an avid collector of anything Maytag, and Tim has a big focus in his collection on Briggs & Stratton. Olds engines and Oldsmobile cars also are at the core of the Reynolds collection, and Alan will have his small Olds model at the show.
The Reynolds family are long-time supporters of Old Threshers. Alan Reynolds and his father Earl began showing antique cars and tractors at the show more than 50 years ago. In the early 1970s, Earl became the coordinator for the antique car area, and, in 1978, he joined the Old Threshers board as a director, serving for over 30 years. Seeking to get his father, Leonard, involved in the show, Earl acquired a 2-1/2hp Ottawa engine for him to display. This led to Leonard adding several more engines, all displayed on a custom-built wood trailer.
Alan’s involvement in the gas engine hobby started out by spending time in the display at the reunion with his grandfather Leonard. Over time, operation of the engines transitioned to Alan. Leonard passed away in 2001, and Alan took over full responsibility for showing his grandpa’s engines.
Dan had heavy exposure to the Old Threshers reunion and gas engines since birth. Dan got his first engine of his own at age 16, a Maytag 92 found in the swap area at the show. This led to another Maytag engine purchase the next year. Now, more than 20 years later, he has more than 60 different Maytag and Elgin engines in his collection, along with related equipment, washers and memorabilia.
Tim also got the full immersion experience in Old Threshers and engines. Seeing his brother buying and playing with Maytags, he decided he also needed an engine of his own. At age 12, he got his first Briggs & Stratton engine, a common model 6S but a great one to learn on. His collection has also blossomed and now totals nearly 300 different Briggs & Stratton engines. The seemingly endless variations continue to amaze him.
Four generations of the Reynolds family have been exhibitors of gas engines at the Old Threshers reunion. Dan and Kelly Reynolds welcomed a son, Oliver, in 2022. Oliver has been at the show the last two years, soaking it all in. Chances are that it won’t be long until the fifth generation is an active gas engine exhibitor too!
Barry Tuller is a collector of gas engines and related belt-driven equipment, literature, and advertising. He enjoys learning about engines, and researching the history of the people and companies that made them. He can be reached at btengines@gmail.com
