While the underlying principle of Nikolaus Otto’s 4-stroke is still at work in today’s internal combustion engines, the details began changing almost as quickly as the unveiling of the first practical example of the principle back in the 1870s. If there’s anything a modern-day gas engine collector should be thankful for it’s that a combination of patent restrictions and general technological one-upmanship produced a wide-variety of 4-stroke engines beginning with Otto. 

Each engine builder in each region of Europe and the United States felt that their engine design was the most effective example of the 4-stroke principle. And the result of their confidence and ingenuity is a fascinating variety of gas engines that work off the same principle but vary greatly in style and design. 

To illustrate the difference in style and design between European engines and their American counterparts, here’s a video clip from the 2010 Internationale Stationaire Motoren Show at Nuenen, The Netherlands. In English, it’s the International Stationary Engine Show and it is, by many accounts, the premier showcase of antique European gas engines. Following the video clip are some related articles from Gas Engine Magazine with further information about European gas engines at Nuenen:

Related articles from Gas Engine Magazine:
- 1998 Internationale Stationaire Motoren Show at Nuenen
- 2002 Internationale Stationaire Motoren Show at Nuenen
- 2006 Internationale Stationaire Motoren Show at Nuenen 

It’s often said that the best aspects of the antique gas engine hobby are the people involved in it. And aside from being some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, it should also be noted that they’re often some of the smartest and most creative.
Whether it’s coming up with a creative homemade fix for a missing carburetor or a faithful, to-the-detail restoration that brings an old engine as close as possible to its shipping date condition, many antique gas engine enthusiasts are just as ingenious as the manufacturers who made these engines more than a century ago.
Perhaps this fact is most evident in the homemade hit-and-miss gas engines that some enthusiasts have made. From modified air-compressors to custom castings designed from scratch, it’s obvious that had they lived 100 years ago, we’d be collecting their engines today.
Here’s a short video of one collector’s homemade hit-and-miss gas engine made from an old Curtis air-compressor, followed by a few related articles from the archive of Gas Engine Magazine:



Related articles from Gas Engine Magazine:
- Ferrier Homemade Hit-and-Miss Gas Engine
- 3 HP Homemade Hit-and-Miss Gas Engine
- Homemade Mixer for a Hit-and-Miss Gas Engine 
 
 

For attendees at the 2010 Mother Earth News Fair at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, Pa., a steady chugging sound garnered quite a bit of attention.

To the well-trained ear of an antique gas engine enthusiast, the chugging was the unmistakable sound of a hit-and-miss gas engine. More specifically, it was a 1929 3 HP John Deere powering an ice cream churn owned and operated by Tom and Nancy Brown of Knox, Pa. 

Gas Engine Magazine associate editor Christian Williams spoke briefly with Tom about the business and the curious guesses that people have when they see the display: 

One of the highlights of any modern farm show is watching a skilled steam engine operator maneuver a Case steam engine up an incline. But you may be wondering how the incline demonstration started.

It’s always been considered a stunt of sorts but in the early days of steam, the activity served a marketing purpose for J. I. Case Threshing Co. Under the slogan “Case engines are the only real hill climbers,” the company hung its hat on the fact that uneven terrain was no match for its quality line of steam traction engines. And to prove it, they were more than happy to demonstrate how easy it was to run it up and down an incline.

By all accounts, the first public incline demonstration took place at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. And more than 100 years later, the incline demonstration is still one of the most memorable images you can take away from a farm show.

Here’s a short video of a 40 HP Case steam engine on the incline at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minn., followed by some articles from the Iron-Men Album archive that talk about Case steam engines and the incline:

 
Related articles from Iron-Men Album and Steam Traction:
- 40 HP Case Steam Engine on the Incline at Kansas Show
- 40 HP Case Steam Engine on the Incline at Pawnee
- Steam Traction Engine Shows at Joyland Park 

When “Colonel” Edwin Drake modified a salt well drill to successfully tap the earth for oil in Titusville, Pa., he probably had no idea just how important oil would become over the next 151 years. It’s often forgotten that the history of oil, at least by modern definition, began in that small western Pennsylvania town on Aug. 27, 1859.

Soon after Drake’s well began producing, Titusville stood as a beacon to prospectors and speculators hoping to get their piece of the pie, much like the sort that were attracted to California in the 1849 Gold Rush. And from an industrial standpoint, Titusville began to specialize in equipment specifically suited for the extraction, production and distribution of oil.

Of course, if you’re a gas engine enthusiast, particular of the oil field variety, then you’re well aware of Titusville’s role in the epic history of oil. If not, then the following video of a family’s tour of the Drake Well Museum in Titusville might enlighten you, as well as a few links to articles from Gas Engine Magazine related to Titusville and the machinery built there.

Related articles from Gas Engine Magazine:

- The Evolution of the Oil Industry
- History of the Titusville Iron Works
- Dick Bouma's Rare Half-Breed Gas Engine