More Oddities on The Old Motor – The Steam Truck:

It was steam that drove the explosive growth of the U.S. economy in the second half of the 19th century. Whether threshing the wheat in American’s bread basket, powering mills and industrial plants larger than any ever seen before or moving the massive quantities of the raw materials necessary to keep those factories humming, steam was relied upon to get the job done. So it’s only logical that this tried and true propulsion system would make the transition from railroad, manufactory and farm field to the primitive road vehicles of the early 20th.

While the first horseless carriages were rapidly improving from year to year, it would be a while before they were to become sufficiently robust to move the heavy cargoes that were steam’s forte. Take, for example, the 20 horsepower Grout Brothers truck carrying a Grout steam car seen in our top photo today. Note it’s clearly displayed five ton capacity. At the time there were few, if any, gasoline powered vehicles that could handle a load like that. The company used this truck for delivering their automobiles. Note the lower of the two wheels mounted on the steering column. It’s the throttle control. Photo from the April 30, 1904 issue of ”The Automobile Magazine”. See 7 more COOL REAL STEAMPUNK trucks @ http://theoldmotor.com/?p=93878