Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and engineer. He is coined for inventing the first steam powered passenger vehicle. Relying on was termed as "strong steam", steam that is extremely high in pressure compared to later designed steam engines, his "Puffing Devil" was considered the world's first steam railway locomotive. Thus, his invention served as an inspiration from the James Watt steam engine, which used lower pressure steam .

Trevithick was born on April 13th 1771 in Illogan, Cornwall, England. He spent his youth at Illogan in a tin-minigh district of Cornwall and attended the village school. Considered a terrible student, his teachers referred to him as a "disobedient, slow, obstinate, spoiled boy" who would never amount to anything. His father (who was a mine manager) considered him to be someone who wasted his time on meaningless tasks and hobbies. Additionally, throughout his career Trevithick was considered to be illiterate. However, this did not stop him from having a fondness in tinkering with machinery, as at a young age he was noted for being a protege in understanding mechanical devices.

Because he displayed significant prowess in understanding engineering, he obtained his fist job as an engineer to a group of Cornish ore mines in 1790 at the age of 19. Seven years later, he married Jane Harvey of a prominent engineering family. He went on to have six children with her, one of which became the superintendent of the London and North Western Railway and eventually wrote a biography on his father.

Living in Cornwall during this time of his life, Trevithick observed that the high import costs obliged the ore-miner operators to exercise rigid economy in the consumption of fuel for pumping and hoisting. Thus, it was imperative that engineers during the period had to develop a cheaper and more effective alternative; namely they wanted to improve the efficiency of the steam engine.

However, many engineers were careful on expanding the efficiency of the steam engine, as there was the potential of increasing its haphazardness to the user. Particularly in using "strong steam", many engineers were careful to experiment with the super heated liquid; but Trevithick thought otherwise. Thru observation and tinkering, he realized that by using high pressure strong steam and allowing it to expand within a cylinder, a much smaller and lighter engine could be built without any less power than in the low-pressure type.

Nearing the end of the decade, Watt's patents expired, allowing Trevithick to pursue his experimentation on high pressure steam engines. Prior to Trevithick acquiring the idea of building the first locomotive steam engine, the concept had already been put into question. However, due to the risky nature of such a device, the vast majority of engineers abandoned the concept. Trevitchick however, felt that it was possible with the use of his strong steam engine due to the lighter built frame.

In 1796 he had successfully produced a miniaturized locomotive. Wanting to produce a larger steam road locomotive that could be used in industrial work, on Christmas Eve in 1801 he finished his assembly on a larger model, and used it to take his friends on a short ride. Calling it the "Puffing Devil", it was a early model that could only go short distances, as he was unable to find a way in keeping up the steam for an extended period of time.

Eventually he met with a company called Vivian and West that agreed to fund his experiments. However, after a few days of using the machine, it failed in performing the tasks given, leading to the company pulling funding from Trevithick. However, he found a replacement sponsor from Penydarren Ironworks, which allowed him in 1804 to produce the wrolds first steam engine to run successfully on rails. He was then hired by Wulam Colliery,where he created a locomotive to replace horse drawn carriages. It failed, as the weight was too heavy for the wooden rails. Eventually in 1808 he erected the circular railway in Euston Square so he could test he locomotive, but eventually had to suspend it as rails would again break from the weight.

Without financial backing, Trevitchick abandoned his plans to develop a steam locomotive, and started to take odd jobs. Sadly, he eventually died of poverty on April 22nd, 1833. Facing the prospect of a pauper's funeral, a group of local factory workers had heard the news and raised enough funds to provide a decent funeral. Today, he is currently buried in the Dartford churchyard, where his contributions to the early development of the first steam engine can historically be respected, and remembered.

references

<references>