Richard Trevithick the Terrific

Posted on November 25th, 2007 filed in History, Merthyr Tydfil, Photos, S & M

A little over two hundred years ago saw the first steam locomotive haul a load on rails. Cornish Engineer Richard Trevithick’s steam locomotive ran with five wagons for five miles along the rail tramroad, from Penydarren to Navigation, Abercynon, with 70 men and 10 tons of iron on board. It was a historic journey.

What were the thoughts of the people who witnessed this noisy iron monster ?

Did they feel in awe of this spectacte and terrified by the sight ?

The Cambrian Newspaper commented on Trevithick’s terrific invention thus : “It is not doubted but that the number of horses in the kingdom will be very considerably reduced, and the machine, in the hands of the present proprietors, will be made use of in a thousand instances never yet thought of for an engine.”

Richard Trevithick’s achievement is remembered in many places in the Valleys, including a memorial at Abercynon, a memorial at Pontmorlais, Merthyr Tydfil, and a mural at Tesco’s Merthyr Tydfil. Photos of all these sites are available in the Gallery.