Rawleigh-Schryer

By Staff
1 / 5
The original letter Joe received from the W.T. Rawleigh Co. in 1965.
The original letter Joe received from the W.T. Rawleigh Co. in 1965.
2 / 5
This 6 HP engine spent its life powering a buzz saw.
This 6 HP engine spent its life powering a buzz saw.
3 / 5
4 / 5
Joe Lambert with his 1914 Rawleigh-Schryer
Joe Lambert with his 1914 Rawleigh-Schryer
5 / 5
The head and workings of the engine.
The head and workings of the engine.

While discussing our plans for an upcoming show
in southeastern Indiana, Joe Lambert asked me if I had ever seen
the letter he received from the W.T. Rawleigh Co. in Freeport, Ill.
Joe had written the company in 1965, two years after he purchased
his Rawleigh-Schryer engine.

Joe had asked a fellow worker at the factory if he knew of an
old engine he could buy. The man said there was one in a nearby
field covered with corn stalks, and he was sure the farmer would
sell it if Joe could get it out.

The old Rawleigh-Schryer was used many years ago to power a buzz
saw and was abandoned after many hours of hard work cutting wood in
the once spacious wooded field. Now it was simply a piece of yard
art that usually got covered with non-important materials that
needed out-of-the-way storage. “I paid $27.50 in 1963 for the
little giant of an engine and worked the good part of a day
winching it into my truck by myself. Needless to say my family was
not very happy with my purchase, as that kind of money spent for
such non-essential things was not a priority within the family
budget,” Joe says. “I’ve never seen such big roaches living in an
engine, I finally had to pour gasoline all over the engine to get
rid of them.”

Once the engine was in Joe’s shop, he found the head was cracked
in two different places and needed some delicate welding – an easy
task for a man who was a welder for many years at the local
metalworking factory.

Today, Joe’s finely tuned Rawleigh-Schryer 6 HP engine sits
proudly on the specially built trailer he purchased just for his
collection of gas engines. As you can see, the engine looks very
nice, with good attention to detail. And I might add it runs as
good as it looks.

C.H. Wendel’s American Gasoline Engines Since 1872 states, “For
1911, the Rawleigh-Schryer line included hopper-cooled engines in
2-1/2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 HP sizes. The similarity to
Stover’s engine is obvious, but why wouldn’t it be? Paul F. Schryer
had been with Stover for many years – in fact, his experiments on
gas engines started way back in 1884. A disastrous fire in 1916
wiped out the engine factory and that ended production of the
Rawleigh engines.”

Joe and his wife, Bernice, have been active in the vintage
equipment hobby for more than 50 years and would be happy to talk
with fellow collectors, (812) 212-1485.

Bob Crowell and his wife, Linda, travel to antique farm
machinery shows throughout the Midwest promoting steam, gas engine
and antique tractor magazines. Contact them at: P.O. Box 103,
Batesville, IN 47006; vintageequipmags@yahoo.com

  • Published on Oct 1, 2006
Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388