Haynes ordered a one-horsepower marine upright, two-cycle engine from Sintz Gas Engine Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan for $225. Although the engine was intended for use on a small boat, Haynes believed it could be adapted for his purposes. The engine arrived in the fall of 1893. Haynes soon had the device attached to a carriage he built in his kitchen. He found when he started the engine that its vibrations were too severe for the harness it was in, and before he could stop the engine it had done considerable damage to the carriage and the floor of his kitchen, and filled the room with smoke.