A circus of one couple: promising, but fantastic failures of Richard Trevithick (7 photos)

Twenty-five years before Robert Stephenson convincingly demonstrated the superiority of steam locomotives over horse-drawn carriages at Rainhill, British inventor Richard Trevithick built the first full-size working steam locomotive.





In 1804, his locomotive carried passengers for the first time on the 16-kilometre railway in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.

"Catch Me If You Can"



Engineer Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick was a pioneer in the development of steam engines. His key contribution was the creation of the first high-pressure steam engine. Before this, steam engines used low pressure, creating a vacuum under the piston in the cylinder. Trevithick proposed using high steam pressure, which allowed the creation of more powerful and compact engines suitable for installation on a wheeled platform - this is how the first steam locomotive appeared.

However, James Watt, the Scottish engineer who received all the credit for "inventing" the steam engine and ushering in the Industrial Revolution, had a monopoly and a patent that blocked other inventors from experimenting. It was only after Watt's patent expired in 1800 that Trevithick began building his own engines.





Trevithick's Steam Circus

Trevithick's first steam locomotive, the "Puffing Devil," was designed for the road. On Christmas Eve 1801, he drove up Faw Street in Camborne, over the hill and into Beacon village, carrying six passengers. This was the first demonstration of steam transport.



The London Steam Coach, designed by Trevithick and Vivian, was demonstrated in London in 1803

In 1804, Trevithick built a new steam locomotive for the railways. On 21 February, the locomotive set off from Penydarren with 10 tons of iron, five carriages and 70 passengers, to a large crowd, covering the 16 kilometres to Abercynon in 4 hours 5 minutes (at an average speed of 4 kilometres per hour). This became the first ever railway journey.

The "Steam Circus" in London



An exact replica of "Catch Me Who Can" on display at the 2014 exhibition at the Netherlands Railway Museum

In 1808, Trevithick came to London to popularise the railways. He built a demonstration track with a diameter of 30 meters, where a steam locomotive pulled carriages, like on a fairground carousel. Despite the advertising purposes, the inventor surrounded the track with a high fence, hiding it from prying eyes. Accordingly, only those who had bought a ticket could watch. Trevithick called it the "Steam Circus".



Trevithick's steam locomotive No. 14, built by Hazledine and Company in Bridgnorth around 1804

For the show, he designed a new locomotive - "Catch Me Who Can". However, the soft ground beneath the rails sank under the 8-ton locomotive, the brittle cast iron rails broke, and the project failed. Lack of funding and waning public interest disappointed Trevithick. He abandoned locomotives and switched to stationary steam engines for industry: stone crushers, rolling mills, hammers and blast furnace blowers. He also built a paddle boat and several dredgers.

Forgotten genius



Trevithick's 1804 locomotive. This full-scale reconstruction is in the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea

Trevithick continued to experiment, but lacked financial support. He died alone, bankrupt, in a hotel room from pneumonia. No one looked after him for the last week of his life. A colleague raised money for the funeral, but Trevithick's grave remained unmarked, and when the cemetery closed, its location was lost. It was not until a century later that a memorial plaque was erected in St Edmunds Cemetery in Dartford with the approximate location of the inventor's burial.