Iron horse

[1][2] The term was common and popular in both British and North American literary articles.

Iron horse was used admiringly when comparing early road and railway traction engine performance to slower, less powerful horse-powered tramways.

The usage of the word 'Iron' reflecting the material required for functioning railways is found as early as 1825.

[3][4] The iron horse term became widely popularized and found frequent use in the century-and-a-half following the competition won by Stephenson's Rocket, in innumerable newspaper articles as well as in various novels.

[13] In Australia the film Iron Horse was well noted as an indicator of the usage of the term to do with expansion of railways across the continent.