If you ask a search engine they will tell you that this engine does not exist. I tried Google, Bing and Duck, Duck, Go and got zero results every time. No matter how I phrased it, I drew a blank.
The same for a search for a manufacturing company called Thompson Brothers. The closest result was about an early car dealership in Salisbury. That was a possibility. It’s not inconceivable that a car dealership would also sell general purpose engines, but that will have to remain speculation until something emerges to back it up.
Thompson Brothers certainly could have been some kind of retail merchant. It was not unusual for manufacturers to put the retailer's brand name on one of their products. All that was required was an order that was big enough for the extra work to be worthwhile.
The thing that interested me the most about it was the fact that it says made by Thompson Brothers, cast onto the water hopper. Salisbury, NC. isn’t exactly famous as an industrial or manufacturing center. True, Southern Railroad’s maintenance facility was a few miles away at Spencer, but most of the industrial activity was mills that processed cotton into cloth.
So that’s the story about the Jack Rabbitt. Maybe someone out there can fill in the blanks, If so, please leave a comment. Until then, at least some pictures are now online. A little bit is better than nothing.
I photographed this engine at the Foothills Antique Show at Hickory, NC. No information about it was provided.
