A steam wagon (steam lorry or steam waggon) is a steam-powered road vehicle for carrying freight. It was the earliest form of lorry (truck) and came in two basic forms: overtype and undertype – the distinction being the position of the engine relative to the boiler. Manufacturers tended to concentrate on one form or the other.
Steam wagons were a widespread form of powered road traction for commercial haulage in the early part of the twentieth century, although they were a largely British phenomenon, with few manufacturers outside Great Britain. Competition from internal-combustion-powered vehicles and adverse legislation meant that few remained in commercial use beyond the Second World War.
Although the majority of steam wagons have been scrapped, a significant number have been preserved in working order and may be seen in operation at steam fairs, particularly in the UK.
Read more about Steam Wagon: Design Features, Steam Lorry Manufacturers, In Popular Culture, See Also, References
Famous quotes containing the words steam and/or wagon:
“A steam ran small and terrible and shrill;
it was so still;
the stream ran from the oak-copse
and returned and ran
back into shadow.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“The man who is rich in fancy thinks that his wagon is already built; poor fool, he does not know that there are a hundred timbers to a wagon.”
—Hesiod (c. 8th century B.C.)