Johnson Iron Horse
Background
Production began at Peterboro Ontario and Waukegan Illinois
in 1935 and continued in Canada until 1952. During the seventeen years of
production there were approximately two hundred and fifty thousand engines made
in Canada this does not include generator sets as they had there own series of
serial numbers. As production ended it turned to a two-cycle aluminum engine
with a horizontal crankshaft. These engines filled the gap left by the original
Iron Horse and would also be used on washing machines, lawn mowers etc. Whether
these engines were not reliable or the fact that the rotary mower was now flooding
the market, the need for a gas-powered washing machine was limited and this engine
was soon discontinued. The name Iron Horse did continue to be used on the
two-cycle rotary engine until the early sixties.
There is not as much information known about production at
Waukegan. As I stated in the beginning, production started in 1935 but exactly
when it ended is not known. It has been speculated that it ended about 1947.
This is based on the fact that there were never any US engines made with air vain
governors and recoil rope starters both of which appeared in Canada in 1947. I
have started a US made engine serial number list to try and track US production.
At this time I have engines with serial numbers up to 168502. In time I hope that
this number will rise as more engines appear. As with the Canadian engines this
does not include generators. It should be noted that Lawn Boy mowers were sold
under the Evinrude name with Iron Horse 4 cycle engines. These engines did not
have a serial number attached and had a Lawn Boy decal tag. There were several
types of generator sets with Iron Horse engines but sold under other brand names
(Blue Diamond, Sampson and Sears).
Models
There were five basic model groups excluding generator sets.
These groups were the bases for all models that followed. As this engine was
accepted by industries for its reliability and durability the model base grew. For
instance in the beginning there was one basic model the X101. In 1936 the X200 and
X300 series were introduced with ten models each to comply with industries demands
for variation. For example some required different types of exhaust, choke cable,
pulleys or kick pedals depending on the application. The variations grew with demand,
as each customer wanted a tailored model for their application. See chart below for
model numbers.
The model base and descriptions I have made below will be kept
simple in order to avoid any confusion.
X100 series one-piece block with Vacturie suction carburetor
(see Type 1)
X200 series one-piece block with Vacturie suction carburetor
(see Type 1)
X300 series one-piece block with Johnson suction carburetor
(see Type 2)
X400 series two-piece block with Johnson suction carburetor
(see Type 2 & 3)
X500 series two-piece block with Tillitson float carburetor
(see Type 6)
I have put together the model list below to help identify
models and give a better overview of the models themselves. Some of the
model numbers came from collectors; the rest came from Johnson manuals
themselves. I do not know if this represents all of their models, but it
should give a good general overall picture of the models produced. I
would be glad to add any overlooked models you find.
Color
The engine models X100, X200 and X300 were painted in a black
wrinkle finish except the pulleys, muffler guard and the breather cap.
These were painted silver. The models X400 and X500 were painted a gloss
black with the pulleys, muffler guard and breather cap painted silver.
These paint descriptions are from Johnson literature descriptions. An
exception to this would be a military unit that would be painted drab
olive, which was considered a specialty color.
Back to Main Iron Horse Page.
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Last modified: 08 / 03 / 2005
