Walker-Baumann tractor gearcase (1930s)

[Smokin' Joe]

This is advertisement for my article that appears in the April 2011 issue of The Antique Outboarder, the quarterly of AOMCI (Antique Outboard Club of America). You can order copies of the AO even if you don't belong. John Schubert is VP, I'm the 'Johnson Classic' tech expert. These gearcases were made by Louis P. Baumann in the 1930s and set three world records in competition with the Soriano motors. The cleaver shown is Baumann zero-rake cleaver built to generate tail lift on fully-submerged gearcases. Get the AO and read the article, it explains why the gearcase would not turn (unstable rudder hydrodynamics). Photo 3 (courtesy of Soriano expert Marc Hamer) shows the Eldridge X motor, a Johnson PR stacked on top of another Johnson PR, this one set the last world record held by a Walker-Baumann gearcase. The other photos show three of the four Walker-Baumann gearcases owned by Louis Rothermel in Houston. My article covers the history and pre-history of Baumann Propeller in Houston. According to Ron Hill, racing props were sent to Texas in the 1950s and 'Texas' meant Baumann Propeller.