Catch me who can
Encyclopedia
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
created by Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
, (after those at Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
, Penydarren
Penydarren
Penydarren Ironworks was the fourth of the great ironworks established at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.Built in 1784 by the brothers Samuel Homfray, Jeremiah Homfray, and Thomas Homfray, all sons of Francis Homfray of Stourbridge. Their father, Francis, for a time managed a nail warehouse there...
ironworks and Wylam
Wylam
Wylam is a small village about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located in the county of Northumberland.It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early rail pioneers. George Stephenson's Birthplace is his cottage that can be found on the north bank of the...
colliery). Built in 1808 by Rastrick
John Urpeth Rastrick
John Urpeth Rastrick was one of the first English steam locomotive builders. In partnership with James Foster, he formed Foster, Rastrick and Company, the locomotive construction company that built the Stourbridge Lion in 1829 for export to the Delaware and Hudson Railroad in America.-Early...
and Hazledine at their foundry in Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was demonstrated to the public at a "steam circus" organized by Trevithick on a circular track in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, just south of the present-day Euston Square tube station
Euston Square tube station
Euston Square is a London Underground station at the corner of Euston Road and Gower Street, just north of University College London and within walking distance of Euston railway station. It is between Great Portland Street and King's Cross St. Pancras on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The locomotive reached a top speed of 12 mph (19 km/h). It proved too heavy, however, for the relatively brittle cast-iron rails then in use and Trevithick closed his exhibition after a broken rail caused a derailment
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
.
The mechanical arrangement of Catch Me Who Can was simpler than the previous locomotives. The horizontal cylinder, flywheel, and geared drive were replaced by a vertical cylinder, still encased within the boiler, driving one pair of wheels directly by means of connecting rods. The boiler was Trevithick's usual return-flue type, with an internal firebox
Firebox
In a steam engine, the firebox is the area where the fuel is burned, producing heat to boil the water in the boiler. Most are somewhat box-shaped, hence the name.-Railway locomotive firebox :...
.
A replica is under construction by the Trevithick 200 charity at the Severn Valley Railway
Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route...
workshops, close to the site where the original locomotive was built. It is now sufficiently complete, as of March 2010, to turn over when set up on blocks, but not yet to move itself along.
External links
- 1808 - Trevithick's 'Catch me who can' (Incorrectly gives site as Torrington Square instead of UCL Chadwick Building)
- 'Catch-Me-Who-Can', 1808 (Incorrectly gives site as Euston Square instead of UCL Chadwick Building)
- Trevithick's circle - Prof. Nick Tyler UCL
- Cruchley's Plan 1827 site of Trevithick's 1808 steam circus, now underneath the UCL Chadwick Building.
- Bowle's Plan 1806 an earlier plan of the area.
- Richard Trevithick (Spartcus schoolnet) (Incorrectly gives site as Euston Square instead of UCL Chadwick Building)
- Richard Trevithick : Cornwall's Pioneer of Steam (Incorrectly gives site as Euston Square instead of UCL Chadwick Building)
- The 'Catch Me Who Can' replica - in Bridgnorth
- www.steamcircus.info - Compilation of research on the exact location of Steam Circus and some new ideas