History of Ground Transportation By billy4 Jan 1, 1630 Beaumont designs and builds wagon roads for English coal mines using heavy planks on which horses pulled carts and wagons. Jan 1, 1755 First steam engine in America is installed to pump water from a mine. Jan 1, 1812 The first commercially successful steam locomotives, using the Blenkinsop rack and pinion drive, commenced operation on the Middleton Railway. Jan 1, 1818 first bicycle was patented by Baron Karl Drais in Mannheim, Germany, Aug 31, 1839 first mechanicaly powered bicycle The first mechanically-propelled 2-wheel vehicle was believed to have been built by Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith. Aug 1, 1879 invention of the saftey bicycle John Kemp Starley produced the first sucessful saftey bike Jan 1, 1881 French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile Jan 1, 1894 very first car Benz "Velo" model first car Jan 1, 1927 ford model T 1927, regarded as the first affordable American automobile