Ah, the scourge of the coaching roads. No wonder the railway was destined to become a staple of British travel.
Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) was a British inventor. Growing up in the mine rich landscape of Cornwall, he was also a mining engineer.
It was as a child where he first saw steam pumps in action, removing water from the tin and copper mines.
His first major success that would lead to the development of the steam locomotive was an exhibition of the “Puffing Devil.” Later recognized as the first mode of transport powered by steam (at least the first on exhibition), the carriage carried a group up and down a high street to the amazement of onlookers.
On 21 February 1804 the world’s first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place as Trevithick’s unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Wales.
Trevithick had many personal successes and failures, but his work undoubtedly help bring about “the future” of steam power. The impact of railway travel contributed to the rapid industrialization of the British Isles, enabling people and goods to move much more rapidly and safely through the landscape.
