In its 19th century heyday, the city of Springfield in Massachusetts produced the first industrial assembly line, the first gasoline-powered automobile and the first sleeping rail car. Wason, one of its leading companies, made passenger coaches and streetcars for clients across the US and countries as far afield as Egypt. While Wason went out of business in the 1930s, Springfield prospered well into the 20th century before deindustrialisation forced many of its factories to close.
在19世紀(jì)的鼎盛時(shí)期，馬薩諸塞州斯普林菲爾德市有了第一條工業(yè)裝配線(xiàn)、生產(chǎn)了第一輛汽油動(dòng)力汽車(chē)和第一節(jié)臥鋪車(chē)廂。Wason是該市領(lǐng)先的公司之一，當(dāng)時(shí)它生產(chǎn)的列車(chē)車(chē)廂和有軌電車(chē)不僅供應(yīng)美國(guó)各地的客戶(hù)，還供應(yīng)遠(yuǎn)至埃及的海外客戶(hù)。雖然Wason在20世紀(jì)30年代破產(chǎn)，但斯普林菲爾德在進(jìn)入20世紀(jì)后還繁榮了很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間，直到后來(lái)去工業(yè)化迫使該市許多工廠(chǎng)關(guān)閉。