One of the company officials who was trying to promote it had called newspapers and radio stations to demonstrate it. The standard Reo mower engine was mounted on a slightly tilted platform inside the boat, and a power shaft went through the bottom of the boat to drive an aluminum prop - the common man's inboard-outboard ! I have heard a very interesting story concerning the introduction of the Trollabout. Reo also made an item called the Trollabout, which was made for installation in a rowboat.

A variation of the basic engine with a 6:1 gear reduction was used on their deluxe lawn mower, the Trimalawn, and was also used on a snow blower several years later. The intake and exhaust valves were both operated by a single cam lobe on the camshaft. However, the power was taken from the camshaft, which meant that the drive pulley turned in the same direction as other engines, at 1/2 the speed of the crankshaft. It ran 'backwards', that is, the flywheel rotated counter-clockwise, which was opposite from most other engines. It was a well-built cast iron engine, with its head slanted at 45 degrees. That engine was introduced in 1949 and became a great success. At this time Reo was using Clinton and Briggs & Stratton engines, but engineer Francis Korff was busy developing Reo's own engine in their engineering lab. Reo started the Lawn Mower Division in 1946 with a 17-inch push-type mower, and a 21-inch engine-powered reel-type mower. He brought several engineering and sales people with him from Ideal. Sherer was a graduate of MIT and was formerly Vice-president and General Manager of Ideal Lawn Mower Company of Lansing. was president of Reo Motors at the time the lawn mower line was started. This lawn mower division helped the company survive during this time. Following the post-war boom, truck sales slowed down drastically in early 1949, but three years earlier the company had started building engine-powered lawn mowers. Reo Motors became well-known for its trucks, and supplied many trucks and engines for the US military during World War II. Ransom Olds died in 1950, at the age of 86, but was no longer connected with any of these companies. These companies include Olds Gas Power Company, Original Gas Engine Company, and Ideal Motor Company, which built stationary engines. He founded the Olds Motor Works and Reo Motors, and was part owner in a number of other companies which were involved in trucks, automobiles, and engines. The name REO originated from the initials of a man named Ransom Eli Olds, who was involved in many enterprises in and around Lansing, Michigan. Doug's Reo Site A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE REO ENGINE

1950 reo mower guide