Richard Trevithick, (born April 13, 1771, Illogan, Cornwall, England died April 22, 1833, Dartford, Kent), British mechanical engineer and inventor who successfully harnessed high-pressure steam and constructed the world's first steam railway locomotive (1803). Trevithick early in life he displayed an extraordinary talent in engineering. Because of his intuitive ability to solve problems that perplexed educated engineers, he obtained his first
job as engineer to several Cornish ore mines at the age of 19. In 1797 Trevithick constructed high-pressure working models of both stationary and locomotive engines that were so successful that he built a full-scale, high-pressure engine
for hoisting ore. In 1803 he built a second carriage, which he drove through the streets of London, and constructed the world's first steam railway locomotive at Samuel Homfray's Penydaren Ironworks in South Wales. A second, similar locomotive was built at Gateshead in 1805,
and in 1808 Trevithick demonstrated a third, the Catch- me-who-can, on a circular track laid near Euston Road in London. He then abandoned these projects, because the cast-iron rails
proved too brittle for the weight of his engines. The New Castle, built by Richard Trevithick in 1803, the first locomotive to do actual work. 1. Say what surprised you most. Explain why.
2. What is special about this invention?
3. When was it invented? Where? 4. How does it work?
