Once Competitive
Engines powered by steam are, by definition, known as steam engines and are found today primarily in museums—as relics of an old, stationary method of energy generation. The era in which this form of energy production was considered effective and modern has been over for several decades worldwide. However, from the 1900s through the late 1920s, a steam-powered engine was a serious alternative for powering commercial vehicles.
The biggest advocate of the steam-powered engine was the British company “Sentinel Steam Waggon,” whose origins dated back to 1875. Since 1906, they had included the name “Sentinel” in their company name. The company became so famous for its steam propulsion that, in the years that followed, virtually every steam engine in vehicles was associated with this company, and it even led to cars equipped with this propulsion system being simply equated with the word “Sentinel”!
When, after World War I, the Škoda arms manufacturer sought a new direction, the plant took over licensed production of steam engines from Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd. starting in 1924. Demand for steam-powered vehicles in the transport industry had likely already peaked by this point, yet production was presumably so profitable that the company continued it until 1935—though the more than ten-year duration could well have been due to the long term of the license. It is not known exactly how many of these massive steam trucks bearing the Škoda logo were actually produced, but it is unlikely that there were many.
