One of the first known self-propelled road vehicles was 

 constructed in 1769 by the French military engineer Nicolas 

 Joseph Cugnot. Capable of carrying four passengers, it 

 could attain a speed of about 2 miles an hour with a steam 

 supply lasting a little over 10 minutes. Although hardly 

 practical, it proved that the idea of self-propulsion by steam 

 could be developed and led to the construction in 1770 by 

 Brezin, after Cugnot 's design, of another vehicle (fig. 1) in- 

 tended for the transportation of artillery. It can be seen 

 today in the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers at 

 Paris, where it has been carefully preserved. Supported on 

 three wheels, the machine is powered by a steam engine 

 comprising two vertical, single-acting cylinders attached to 

 the single front wheel. The front wheel is steered, the en- 

 gine and copper boiler turning with it. This self-propelled 

 vehicle is one of the oldest known to exist today. 



Road Locomotives in England 



Among the many early steam-propelled conveyances 

 constructed in England were those of William Murdock, 

 Richard Trevithick, Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, Sir Charles 

 Dance, Walter Hancock, William Church, and Squire and 

 Maceroni. Including both small operable models and full- 

 sized vehicles used to transport passengers and freight over 

 the highways, they were built in the period from 1786 to 

 1838. Some had three wheels, while others had four or six, 

 and some of Gurney's used mechanically operated legs for 

 propulsion, with wheels for support. 



By 1786 Murdock had built a small 3-wheeled model, a 

 copy of which is now in the Science Museum at South 

 Kensington, and there is good evidence that he constructed 

 other models. However, under pressure from his em- 

 ployers, Boulton and Watt, he ultimately abandoned his 

 experiments. 



Trevithick's full-sized steamers operated on the roads of 

 Camborne in Cornwall in 1801 and on the streets of Lon- 

 don in 1803. They were antedated by a small 3-wheeled 

 model built about 1797, also in the Science Museum. 



During the years 1825 through 1829 Gurney constructed 

 several steamers, some of which were conventional carriages 



