traction engine

American  

noun

1. a locomotive operating on surfaces other than tracks and pulling heavy loads, as fallen logs.

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traction engine British  

noun

1. a steam-powered locomotive used, esp formerly, for drawing heavy loads along roads or over rough ground. It usually has two large rear wheels and a rope drum for haulage purposes

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Etymology

Origin of traction engine

First recorded in 1855–60

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

traction engine

A bus driver who was seriously injured in an accident when a traction engine fell off a low-loader into his cabin has told how he thought he "would die".

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2015

"A low-loader had come past, but the traction engine that was on the back had fallen off and smashed into the bus - literally just made a massive, massive mess."

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2015

Built like a traction engine, with forearms like Popeye, Anderson is the kind of big-hitting middle-order batsmen who can make mincemeat of most totals.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2015

They entered three vehicles for competition; one of these, called No. 1, was the traction engine which had taken part in the 1894 trials, and which we have already described.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 1082, September 26, 1896 by Various

The "traction" engine has now replaced the one which had to be drawn by teams, and this not only propels itself but also draws the separator and other loads after it from place to place.

From Rural Life and the Rural School by Joseph Kennedy

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