Marx C1 V
505 fn: "an attempt was made to construct a locomotive with two feet,
which it raised from the ground alternately, like a
horse. It is only after a considerable development of the science of
mechanics, and an accumulation of practical experience, that the form of
a machine becomes settled entirely in accordance with mechanical
principles, and emancipated from the traditional form of the tool from
which it has emerged."
William Brunton's 1813 "steam elephant" used two mechanical legs for
locomotion. The mechanical legs worked perfectly well until the cast
iron boiler exploded in July 1815 killing three and wounding 50. The
"steam elephant" spent its short live in the "Newsbottle Colliery" near
Newcastle.
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael@ecst.csuchico.edu