ABSTRACT
In 1860, the year that Etienne Lenoir invented his gas engine, a nineteen-year-old Cheshire boy, Edwin Foden, was appointed foreman at Messrs Plant and Hancock's engineering works at Elworth, near Sandbach. One of the most famous commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world was established as a result of Edwin Foden accepting Mr Hancock's offer. Edwin Foden appreciated that transport could not possibly be prevented by existing Highway Acts and restrictive laws from increasing its use of the roads. Although his traction engines were becoming faster, more efficient and able to haul heavier loads, he was sufficiently far-sighted to realize that the steam wagon must have a greater future than any traction locomotive. A pioneer of the commercial vehicle industry, he began to develop the prototype of a steam wagon which would prove itself to be better in every respect than any other comparable machine on the market.
