Man that's an amazing find. I have to wonder if it still runs.

Yes it still runs! They fired it up several times. These machine are famous for their reliability.

Oh wow, that would have been interesting to see.

I like old machinery such as that. Every year, the Tennessee Valley Fair in Knoxville has a section for old gas engines that'll run all day on a tank of gas and most of them are running

Thats something that always gets me: they used to make technology reliable and easy to fix. Today everything is basically broken before you leave the store.

Sadly it's engineered that way. It's still possible to make things that last, there's just not much market for it, because most brands optimize for maximum profit. One of the weirder examples of new tools that are designed to last for a long time are Chinese pneumatic tools made for internal market to be used in factories. They are not available in Europe, but I imported some and while it was expensive, the quality is surprising. They are also made to be easily disassembled and repaired.
Also, Lanz Bulldogs are awesome. I didn't know that they were made in the 50's, I thought they were more 20's kinda thing.
I have S-60 farm engine from the 50's, that's very similar in construction, with cylinder cooled by boiling water. Needs some work to make it run again though.

Thats why I always check fleamarkets and antique stores for things like tools: If they are old they are often almost indestrucktable.

That's a good idea. I have a drill press, metal lathe, mill and ridiculoulsy huge shaper all manufactured in 50's and still going strong. The drill press is incomparably more precise than new ones, but also weights 3 times as much :)

Back then shit was made to last.