When it comes to the inventor of the train, almost everyone thinks of Stephenson, the father of the train. Of course, Stephenson has his place in history. He popularized the steam locomotive and created the era of world railway transportation. However, the first train was born in the hands of a lesser-known and ill-fated genius named Richard Trevithick.
Young, frivolous and strong
Europe in the era of the industrial revolution is called "the torrent of genius". The great inventions of genius have brought mankind into the era of rapid development. Richard Trevithick is one of them. On April 3, 1771, Trevithick was born into a wealthy family in Cornwall, England. His father was the manager of a tin mine. As a true "young master", Trevithick was a bold, dashing and generous person in his childhood. Despite being a playboy, Trevithick was well educated and had an extraordinary talent for mechanics. At that time, Trevithick was very interested in a steam engine used to pump water in his father's mine, and soon had a clear understanding of the principle of the steam engine, but he also found that the steam engine was not enough. The steam engine was produced by Watt, who at that time had a monopoly on the entire British steam engine market. James Watt, a figure almost synonymous with the Industrial Revolution, Trevithick decided to challenge that authority.
At the time, the low-pressure steam engines produced by Watt were huge. Trevithick believes that as long as high-pressure steam can expand in the cylinder, a smaller and lighter steam engine can be produced, which can be used in a wider range of fields. In 1797, the 26-year-old Trewick finally succeeded in developing a high-pressure steam engine, named "Blower". The steam engine had great improvements in boilers and transmissions. The cylindrical boiler can not only withstand the high pressure steam of 0.34mpa, but also the volume is much smaller than that of the watt steam engine.Trevithick was full of confidence in his invention, and he believed that the "Trevithick steam engine" would completely replace the Watt steam engine. He will build a big factory and make a lot of money. However, the money has not made a penny, but there are rumors.
Trewich will sell his own steam engine, which will inevitably touch Watt's core interest, authority. A great inventor and seasoned businessman, Watt began spreading rumors that autoclaves were unsafe and prone to explosions. For mine owners who put safety first, of course, they would rather believe what they have or not. Besides, this is from the mouth of the famous "king of the steam engine". As a result, Trevithick's steam engine could not be sold at all, and he was hit by it.
Failed and hard to find
Did Trevithick admit defeat? of course not. He was determined to find another way. One day, he thought, "His high-pressure steam engine is very small. If it is installed on a car, whether it can easily "travel thousands of miles a day" is an epoch-making idea, and it will also usher in a great era.
801, Trevisi Gram and his cousin Andrew Vivian invented the world's first four-wheeled car powered by a steam engine, called "The Blowing Guy". The car was driven on ordinary roads and was powered by a steam engine" Car”, 85 years earlier than the gasoline engine car developed by German Benz (the founder of Mercedes-Benz). On Christmas Eve in 1801, Trevithick invited a few iron buddies to go for a drive. As you can imagine, waiting for them Of course, there were many surprised onlookers. In this festive festival, Trevithick and his "car" headed into the wind on the 8-kilometer journey. Naturally, the dashing Trevithick was a little complacent, Began to officially sell their "cars" to the outside world. However, the good times did not last long.Less than a month after the success of the first performance, he and his cousin were overexcited for a ride again and accidentally drove their "big toy" into a ditch. Fortunately, they were not injured, and Trevithick waved his hand lightly, and took his cousin to a restaurant for a drink as if it were nothing. But the bad things were still to come, Trivic forgot to turn off the car, and in the end the water in the boiler dried out and exploded, and the car was completely burned out.
Trevithick's efforts did not stop, unfortunately, due to his bad luck, neither did the bad luck that accompanied him In 1803, Trevithick built another steam car called "London bus”, and public demonstrations and propaganda in the streets of London. He also took a few iron buddies and drove a long way at a speed of 14 kilometers per hour. However, due to a driving error, the car hit the wall. Since then, everyone thought the steam car was a dangerous "big toy" that no one would pay for. At this time, a high-pressure steam engine that Trewick finally sold exploded in a coal mine, injuring 10 people. The horrific accident nearly broke Trevithick.
Train pioneers show success
Despite repeated "bad luck", Trevithick has shown "little strong" undead fighting spirit. He continued to reflect: "The homemade steam locomotive either hit the ditch or hit the wall. If this locomotive is converted into a fixed track, wouldn't the problem be solved? Moreover, most coal and iron ore transportation routes are Fixed, there are already transport tracks on these lines. With a solid track base, steam locomotives are sure to carry more cargo.
Sure enough, there was interest in Trevithick's idea.A steel boss named Samuel visick made a bet with another boss that if Trevithick could build a steam locomotive that could run on tracks and replace a horse-drawn carriage, it would be 10 tons at a time. The heavy iron ore was transported to the river, and he was sponsored. Inspired by this, Trevithick soon built his third steam locomotive, which he named "New Castle".
There are two pairs of rotating wheels under the locomotive, all driven by gears. The locomotive is also equipped with a large flywheel, which maintains the reciprocating motion of the cylinder piston with its rotational inertial power. Trevithick also introduced two important inventions on the "New Castle": One was the setting of the safety valve, which was made of low-melting lead. Generally, the water in the boiler will overflow the safety valve. Once the water level is too low, the safety valve will be exposed to the air and lose the cooling effect of the water, the temperature of the safety valve will rise until it melts, as long as the safety valve melts, if the boiler is destroyed, the pressure of the boiler will drop and explode Accidents can be avoided.
The second is to improve the boiler chimney, which greatly improves the ventilation of the boiler, and improves the coal burning rate and thermal efficiency. On February 29, 1804, an important day in the history of railway development, the "New Castle" pulled 5 carriages, carried 70 passengers and 10 tons of iron ore, and traveled along a 16-kilometer-long track for 4 hours and 5 minutes. In the presence of a large number of reporters, we arrived at the terminal smoothly. It was the world's first real train, nine years before Stephenson's Brucher.
However, two problems led to Trevithick's failure again: first, the "New Castle" ran 16 kilometers in more than 4 hours, and this "snail-like" speed could not compete with the carriages of the time; second The most fatal problem was that the steam locomotive was too heavy, weighing 4.5 tons, and the track bearing capacity at that time was relatively poor, which made the new castle crush the already paved track wherever it went. All the rails laid by the mine owners became disposable rails after being crushed by the "new castle", which of course made investors and customers lose confidence. In the end, Trevithick, who was already struggling financially, had to sell the patent rights of the new castle and maintain a normal life.
Life was bumpy.
808, Trevithick built his fourth steam locomotive, which was the last of his life. This time Trevithick finally made money from the steam engine. He built a circular track in London, drove a locomotive, juggled and sold tickets. It is said that many people pay to visit and ride the steam locomotive. However, this locomotive is just a "circus toy" and is far from a real commercial application. Since then, Trewick has achieved nothing with steam locomotives, and a large number of talented people have begun to challenge the field, including George Stephenson. Stephenson continued to improve on the Trevithick steam locomotive and finally invented a faster and more practical train. At the same time, Stephenson also actively carried out track route research and successfully solved the problem of insufficient track load.
Trevithick's "juggling career" still didn't last long. In 1810, an accident occurred in a tunnel project he contracted. So far, Trevithick is completely bankrupt. After bankruptcy, Trevithick traveled to South America to pan for gold and ended up working on the installation of steam engines for mines in Peru.Later, when the economic situation improved, Trevithick also acquired the silver mine here.
However, this didn't last long. Trevithick was taken prisoner by Bolivarian forces, the leader of the South American independence movement, and the silver mine was confiscated. After his release, Trewick began a wandering career, and his wife divorced him and took their children and property with them. In 1828, the poor tribesman met George Stephenson's son Robert Stephenson in South America. A big fan of Trevithick, Robert gave him £50, and Trevithick was finally on his way home.
In his later years, Trevithick was in a dire situation. His ex-wife cut him off, and he had to make a living by repairing steam engines in mines and factories. On April 22, 1833, the impoverished genius died of pneumonia, and Trevithick ended his very hard life.
"New Castle"
Nearly a century later, Trevithick's achievements in the field of steam locomotives are beginning to be recognized. In 1932, the British government erected a bronze statue of Trevithick in his hometown of Cornwall. At the same time, a memorial stone was placed in Euston Square in London, which records the history of the Trevithick steam locomotive experiment. In 1933, on the 100th anniversary of Trevithick's death, the British Institution of Civil Engineers held a commemorative lecture. Professor Charles Inglis fully affirmed Trevithick's historical achievements in his opening speech: "From 1799 to 1808, he (Trevithick) completely changed the nature of the steam engine, making the steam engine from a The heavy giant becomes a machine that provides the motive force of society, a machine that drives society." In other words: "He invented the train."
