mechanical horse

English

Noun

mechanical horse (plural mechanical horses)

1. A three-wheeled tractor unit which was usually coupled to a short semitrailer.
   • 1939 November, Charles E. Lee, “Railways and the War — I”, in Railway Magazine, page 312, photo caption:

     Three views showing various units of the G.W.R. fleet of mechanical horses engaged in the delivery in London of what are termed officially "galvanised corrugated steel shelters." The G.W.R. effected its deliveries from the Paddington and South Lambeth depots

   • 1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 335:

     But the horse has left his mark, for his successor is a mechanical horse designed to a large extent to copy the leading characteristics of the live horse; easy attachment to or detachment from its load, a small turning circle, a small appetite for petrol, but giving a much higher acceleration and speed, and so capable of much greater distances, so that fewer cartage units are required.