Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and

Turning his interests abroad Trevithick also worked as a mining consultant in Peru and later explored parts of Costa Rica. Throughout his professional career he went through many ups and downs and at one point faced financial ruin, also suffering from the strong rivalry of many mining and steam engineers of the day. During the prime of his career he was a well-known and highly respected figure in mining and engineering, but near the end of his life he fell out of the public eye.

Trevithick was extremely strong and was a champion Cornish wrestler.^[4][5][6]

Childhood and early life

Richard Trevithick was born at

Trevithick was the son of mine "captain" Richard Trevithick (1735–1797) and of miner's daughter Ann Teague (died 1810). As a child he would watch steam engines pump water from the deep tin and copper mines in Cornwall. For a time he was a neighbour of William Murdoch, the steam carriage pioneer, and would have been influenced by Murdoch’s experiments with steam-powered road locomotion.^[8]

Trevithick first went to work at the age of 19 at the East Stray Park Mine. He was enthusiastic and quickly gained the status of a consultant, unusual for such a young person. He was popular with the miners because of the respect they had for his father.

Marriage and family

In 1797 Trevithick married Jane Harvey of Hayle. They raised 6 children:^{[citation needed][9]}

• Richard Trevithick (1798–1872)
• Anne Ellis (1800–1877)
• Elizabeth Banfield (1803–1870)
• John Harvey Trevithick (1807–1877)
• Francis Trevithick (1812–1877)
• Frederick Henry Trevithick (1816–1883)

Career

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Jane's father,

Trevithick became engineer at the

As his experience grew, he realised that improvements in boiler technology now permitted the safe production of high-pressure steam, which could move a piston in a steam engine on its own account, instead of using pressure near to atmospheric, in a condensing engine.

He was not the first to think of so-called "strong steam" or steam of about 30 psi (210 kPa). William Murdoch had developed and demonstrated a model steam carriage, initially in 1784, and demonstrated it to Trevithick at his request in 1794. In fact, Trevithick lived next door to Murdoch in Redruth in 1797 and 1798. Oliver Evans in the U.S. had also concerned himself with the concept, but there is no indication that his ideas had ever come to Trevithick's attention.^[10]

Independently of this, Arthur Woolf was experimenting with higher pressures whilst working as the Chief Engineer of the Griffin Brewery (proprietors Meux and Reid). This was an Engine designed by Hornblower and Maberly, and the proprietors were keen to have the best steam engine in London. Around 1796, Woolf believed he could save substantial amounts of coal consumption.

According to his son Francis, Trevithick was the first to make high-pressure steam work in England in 1799,^[11] although other sources say he had invented his first high-pressure engine by 1797.^[12][13] Not only would a high-pressure steam engine eliminate the condenser, but it would allow the use of a smaller cylinder, saving space and weight. He reasoned that his engine could now be more compact, lighter, and small enough to carry its own weight even with a carriage attached. (Note this did not use the expansion of the steam, so-called "expansive working" came later)

Early experiments

Trevithick began building his first models of high-pressure (meaning a few

Trevithick built a full-size steam road locomotive in 1801, on a site near present-day Fore Street in Camborne.^[14] (A steam wagon built in 1770 by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot may have an earlier claim.) Trevithick named his carriage Puffing Devil and on Christmas Eve that year, he demonstrated it by successfully carrying six passengers up Fore Street and then continuing on up Camborne Hill, from Camborne Cross, to the nearby village of Beacon. His cousin and associate, Andrew Vivian, steered the machine. It inspired the popular Cornish folk song "Camborne Hill".

During further tests, Trevithick's locomotive broke down three days later after passing over a gully in the road. The vehicle was left under some shelter with the fire still burning whilst the operators retired to a nearby

In 1802 the

This is the drawing used as the basis of all images and replicas of the later "Pen-y-darren" locomotive, as no plans for that locomotive have survived.[21]

London Steam Carriage

The Puffing Devil was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods, and would have been of little practical use. He built another steam-powered road vehicle in 1803, called the London Steam Carriage, which attracted much attention from the public and press when he drove it that year in London from Holborn to Paddington and back. It was uncomfortable for passengers and proved more expensive to run than a horse-drawn carriage, and was abandoned.

In 1831, Trevithick gave evidence to a Parliamentary select committee on steam carriages.^[22]

Tragedy at Greenwich

Also in 1803, one of Trevithick's stationary pumping engines in use at Greenwich exploded, killing four men. Although Trevithick considered the explosion to be caused by a case of careless operation rather than design error, the incident was exploited relentlessly by James Watt and Matthew Boulton (competitors and promoters of the low-pressure engine) who highlighted the perceived risks of using high-pressure steam.

Trevithick's response was to incorporate two

"Pen-y-Darren" locomotive

In 1802, Trevithick built one of his high-pressure steam engines to drive a hammer at the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan. With the assistance of Rees Jones, an employee of the iron works, and under the supervision of Samuel Homfray, the proprietor, Trevithick mounted the engine on wheels and turned it into a locomotive. In 1803, Trevithick sold the patents for his locomotives to Samuel Homfray.

Homfray was so impressed with Trevithick's locomotive that he made a

The bet was won. Despite many people's doubts, it had been shown that, provided that the gradient was sufficiently gentle, it was possible to successfully haul heavy carriages along a smooth iron road using the adhesive weight alone of a suitably heavy and powerful steam locomotive. Trevithick's was probably the first to do so;^[26] but some of the short cast iron plates of the tramroad broke under the locomotive, because they were intended only to support the lighter axle load of horse-drawn wagons. Consequently, the tramroad returned to horse power after the initial test run.

Homfray was pleased he won his bet. The engine was placed on blocks and reverted to its original stationary job of driving hammers.

In modern-day Merthyr Tydfil, behind the monument to Trevithick's locomotive, lies a stone wall, the sole remainder of the former boundary wall of Homfray's

A full-scale working reconstruction of the Pen-y-darren locomotive was commissioned in 1981 and delivered to the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum in Cardiff. When that closed, the locomotive was moved to the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.^[28] Several times a year, it is run on a 40 m (130 ft) length of railway outside the museum.^{[citation needed]}

"Newcastle" locomotive

Christopher Blackett, proprietor of the Wylam colliery near Newcastle, heard of the success in Wales and wrote to Trevithick asking for locomotive designs. These were sent to John Whitfield at Gateshead, Trevithick's agent, who in 1804 built what was probably the first locomotive to have flanged wheels.^[29] Blackett was using wooden rails for his tramway and, once again, Trevithick's machine was to prove too heavy for its track.^[30][31]

Catch Me Who Can

In 1808 Trevithick publicised his steam railway locomotive expertise by building a new locomotive called Catch Me Who Can, built for him by John Hazledine and John Urpeth Rastrick at Bridgnorth in Shropshire, and named by Davies Giddy's daughter. The configuration differed from the previous locomotives in that the cylinder was mounted vertically and drove a pair of wheels directly without a flywheel or gearing.^[32] This was probably Trevithick's fourth locomotive, after those used at Coalbrookdale, Pen-y-darren ironworks, and the Wylam colliery. He ran it on a circular track just south of the present-day Euston Square tube station in London. The site in Bloomsbury has recently been identified archaeologically as that occupied by the Chadwick Building, part of University College London.^[33]

Admission to the "steam circus" was one shilling including a ride and it was intended to show that rail travel was faster than by horse. This venture also suffered from weak tracks and public interest was limited.

Trevithick was disappointed by the response and designed no more railway locomotives. It was not until 1812 that twin-cylinder steam locomotives, built by

Trevithick saw opportunities in London and persuaded his wife and four children reluctantly to join him in 1808 for two and a half years lodging first in Rotherhithe and then in Limehouse.

Nautical projects

In 1808 Trevithick entered a partnership with

Again in 1812, he installed a new 'high-pressure' experimental condensing steam engine at Wheal Prosper. This became known as the Cornish engine, and was the most efficient in the world at that time. Other Cornish engineers contributed to its development but Trevithick's work was predominant. In the same year he installed another high-pressure engine, though non-condensing, in a threshing machine on a farm at Probus, Cornwall. It was very successful and proved to be cheaper to run than the horses it replaced. It was in use for 70 years, and was then retired to an exhibit at the Science Museum.

Recoil engine

In one of Trevithick's more unusual projects, he attempted to build a 'recoil engine' similar to the

In 1830 he invented an early form of storage room heater. It comprised a small fire tube boiler with a detachable flue which could be heated either outside or indoors with the flue connected to a chimney. Once hot the hot water container could be wheeled to where heat was required and the issuing heat could be altered using adjustable doors.

To commemorate the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832 he designed a massive column to be 1,000 feet (300 m) high, being 100 feet (30 m) in diameter at the base tapering to 12 feet (3.7 m) at the top where a statue of a horse would have been mounted. It was to be made of 1500 10-foot-square (3 m) pieces of cast iron and would have weighed 6,000 long tons (6,100 t; 6,700 short tons). There was substantial public interest in the proposal, but it was never built.

Final project

About the same time he was invited to do some development work on an engine of a new vessel at Dartford by John Hall, the founder of J & E Hall Limited. The work involved a reaction turbine for which Trevithick earned £1200. He lodged at The Bull hotel in the High Street, Dartford, Kent.

Death

After he had been working in

Trevithick was buried in an unmarked grave in St Edmund's Burial Ground, East Hill, Dartford. The burial ground closed in 1857, with the gravestones being removed in 1956–57. A plaque marks the approximate spot believed to be the site of the grave.[37] The plaque lies on the side of the park, near the East Hill gate, and an unlinked path.

Memorials

In Camborne, outside the public library, a statue by Leonard Stanford Merrifield depicting Trevithick holding one of his small-scale models^[38] was unveiled in 1932 by Prince George, Duke of Kent, in front of a crowd of thousands of local people.^[39]

On 17 March 2007, Dartford Borough Council invited the Chairman of the Trevithick Society, Phil Hosken, to unveil a Blue plaque at the Royal Victoria and Bull hotel (formerly The Bull) marking Trevithick's last years in Dartford and the place of his death in 1833. The Blue Plaque is prominently displayed on the hotel's front facade. There is also a plaque at Holy Trinity Church, Dartford.^[40]

The Cardiff University Engineering, Computer Science and Physics departments are based around the Trevithick Building which also holds the Trevithick Library, named after Richard Trevithick.^[41]

In

There is a plaque and memorial situated in Abercynon, outside the fire station. It says "In commemoration of the achievements of Richard Trevithick who having constructed the first steam locomotive did on February 21st 1804 successfully hail 10 tons of iron and numerous passengers along a tramroad from Merthyr to this precinct where was situated the loading point of the Glamorgan Canal".^[46] There is also a building in Abercynon called Ty Trevithick (Trevithick House), named in his honour.

On Penydarren Road, Merthyr Tydfil there is a memorial on the site of the Penydarren Tramway. The inscription reads "RICHARD TREVITHICK 1771-1833 PIONEER OF HIGH PRESSURE STEAM BUILT THE FIRST STEAM LOCOMOTIVE TO RUN ON RAILS. ON FEBRUARY 21ST 1804 IT TRAVERSED THE SPOT ON WHICH THIS MONUMENT STANDS ON ITS WAY TO ABERCYNON".^[47] A short walk north of that is the (slightly misspelled) Trevethick Street, named after Trevithick.

A replica of Trevithick's first full-size steam road locomotive was first displayed at Camborne Trevithick Day 2001, the day chosen for the celebration of Trevithick's public demonstration of the use of high-pressure steam. The team consisting of John Woodward, Mark Rivron and Sean Oliver, have continued to maintain and display the engine at various steam fairs across the country. The Puffing Devil has proudly led the parade of steam engines at every subsequent Trevithick day up to and including 2014.

Trevithick Drive in Temple Hill, Dartford, was named after Richard Trevithick.

Legacy

The Trevithick Society, a successor to industrial archaeology organizations that were initially formed to rescue the Levant winding engine from being scrapped, was named in honor of Richard Trevithick.^[48] They publish a newsletter, a journal and many books on Cornish engines, the mining industry, engineers, and other industrial archaeological topics.^[49][50]

The active Trevithick Society is not to be confused with the former Trevithick Trust, registered by the Charity Commission in 1994 and removed (ceased to exist) in 2006.^[51] The Trevithick Trust attracted grants and did work at various sites in Cornwall, including King Edward Mine.

There is also a street named after Trevithick in Merthyr Tydfil.

Richard Trevithick is celebrated in Camborne, Cornwall on Trevithick Day which is held annually on the last Saturday in April. The day is a community festival with steam engines from all over the UK attending. Towards the end of the day they parade through the streets of Camborne and steam past a statue of Richard Trevithick outside the Passmore Edwards building.

Harry Turtledove's alternate history short story "The Iron Elephant" has Richard Trevithick inventing his steam engine in 1782 and subsequently racing a mammoth-drawn train that it would in time come to supplant. This character was born sometime before 1771, and is American rather than British, indicating he (alongside station master George Stephenson) is an analog (a common Turtledove plot device) rather than the historical figure.

The greatest legacy of Trevithick, of course, is that he set into motion the railway age, and proved that high pressure steam engines were the way forward from low pressure engines. After him came George and Robert Stephenson who created viable locomotives and commercially viable railways, but they only built on what Trevithick laid down before them.

See also

• List of topics related to Cornwall

References

Notes

Sources

• Trevithick, Francis: Life of Richard Trevithick, with an account of his inventions, 2 volumes, London / New York, 1872 (to be found in the library of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IMechE, London).
• Burton, Anthony (2000). Richard Trevithick: Giant of Steam. London: Aurum Press.
  ISBN 1-85410-878-6
  .
• Hodge, James (2003), Richard Trevithick (Lifelines; 6.) Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP27 9AA: Shire Publications
• Kirby, Richard Shelton; Withington, S.; Darling, A. B.; Kilgour, F. G. (August 1990). Engineering in History. New York: Dover Publications Inc.
  ISBN 0-486-26412-2
  .
• Lowe, James W. (1975), British Steam Locomotive Builders. Cambridge: Goose
  ISBN 0-900404-21-3
  (reissued in 1989 by Guild Publishing)
• Rogers, Col. H. C. (1961), Turnpike to Iron Road London: Seeley, Service & Co.; pp. 40–44

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Trevithick.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Trevithick, Richard".

• The Camborne ‘Trevithick Day’ Website
• Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Richard Trevithick
• Contributions to the Biography of Richard Trevithick Richard Edmonds, 1859
• Richard Trevithick steam engine 1805–06 in the Energy Hall, Science Museum, London
• Trevithick Society
• "Trevithick, Richard" . Dictionary of National Biography. 1885–1900.