Abstract
ON April 27, simultaneous meetings of the members of the Newcomen Society were held in London and New York. At both places, two papers were read, the first being by Mr. W. W. Mason on Trevithick's first rail locomotive, and the second by Mr. C. L. Chandler on early shipbuilding in Philadelphia. As the centenary of the death of Richard Trevithick would be commemorated next year, it seemed desirable, said Mr. Mason, to determine, so far as possible, the truth about the locomotive Trevithick built in 1803 and with which he experimented in South Wales in the early part of 1804. Neither the account of the experiment in Francis Trevithick's “Life” of his father nor those contained in other works agree as to the design of the engine, while there are discrepancies in the drawings in existence. One account, for example, says the cylinder was placed vertically within the boiler, while Llewellyn's drawing, preserved in the Science Museum, shows the cylinder horizontal. But this is only one point which calls for further investigation. Whatever doubt may exist as to the arrangement of the engine, however, there is little question that on Feb. 21, 1804, it took a load of 10 tons of bar iron and about 70 passengers from the Penydarran works, where it was constructed, down the old tram-road to its junction with the Glamorganshire Canal at Abercynon, a distance of about 10 miles, and in March repeated the journey, but with a net load of 25 tons. One of the most versatile inventors of his age, Trevithick was a pioneer in the use of high pressure steam, and by his experiment in 1804 he became the father of the steam locomotive.
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Trevithick's First Rail Locomotive. Nature 129, 681 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129681c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129681c0