The Steam Driller is the main antagonist of the 2000 tall tale short, John Henry.
History
The Steam Driller and its driver were first shown when they approached John Henry, Polly, Thomas, Mactavish and the other railroad workers to steal their jobs and take away their promised land, despite having a contract with them, to which he burns it in his Steam Driller's chimney after taking it from Mactavish. This angered and outraged Thomas and the railroad workers as they tried to knock the machine over, but John intervened, saying that tipping over the machine isn't the way to settle things. But Thomas and the railroad workers were against John's decision, to which the latter tells them that challenging the Steam Driller is the better way to regain their promised land, to which the Steam Driller's driver salutes him mockingly. When the challenge began, it apparently lost the challenge until it continued with digging through the mountain to the Promised Land, to which the Steam Driller continues by drilling its way through the mountain, with John already worn out, until Polly told him not to give up, prompting John to resume the challenge, with him and the Steam Driller digging their way through the mountain with all their might. After a long struggle, the Steam Driller couldn't take it anymore and it along with its driver die by the time John won the challenge.