Square waterworks at Philadelphia. Built as a steam- 

 operated dredge to be used in the harbor, the 40,000-pound 

 craft was mounted upon axles and wheels (fig. 4) and pro- 

 pelled by its engine from its place of building to the water's 

 edge, earning the present-day title of "America's first 

 automobile." 



Figure 4. — Oliver Evans' "Orukter Amphibolos," 1805. Photograph of a 

 model constructed by Greville Bathe. 



It is stated that the Johnson brothers, proprietors of an 

 engineering establishment in Philadelphia, built a 4- 

 wheeled, 1 -cylinder, steam-propelled wagon in 1828. If 

 authenticated, this vehicle would be America's first full- 

 sized automobile built for the specific purpose of operating 

 on the highway. 



It is further stated that William James, stove manufac- 

 turer of New York City, built a full-sized steam carriage in 

 1830. Supported on three wheels, it was steered by the sin- 

 gle front one, while a 2-cylinder horizontal engine drove the 

 rear two. No relic of the machines constructed by Read, 

 Evans, the Johnsons, and James is known to exist. 



During the middle part of the nineteenth century steam- 

 operated traction engines were built both in America and 

 abroad. In a sense they could be called automobiles, as 

 they moved under their own power, could be steered, and 

 were capable of carrying passengers. They were, however, 

 designed to perform work in the fields, and were usually 

 equipped with broad, cleated wheels, or tracks, and so are 

 not properly a part of the history of the automobile. Their 

 modern counterparts are the often seen Diesel-powered 

 tractors. 



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