Life of Richard Trevithick
With an Account of his Inventions

This detailed study of the work of pioneering engineer Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) was published by his son in 1872.

Francis Trevithick (Author)

9781108026680, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 January 2011

430 pages, 31 b/w illus. 1 map
21.6 x 2.4 x 14 cm, 0.54 kg

Cornishman Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) was one of the pioneering engineers of the Industrial Revolution. Best remembered today for his early railway locomotive, Trevithick worked on a wide range of projects, including mines, mills, dredging machinery, a tunnel under the Thames, military engineering, and prospecting in South America. However, his difficult personality and financial failures caused him to be overshadowed by contemporaries such as Robert Stephenson and James Watt. This two-volume study by his son Francis, chief engineer with the London and North-Western Railway, was published in 1872, and helped to revive his neglected reputation. It places its subject in his historical and technical context, building on the work of his Father, Richard Trevithick Senior, and the Cornish mining industry. It contains much technical detail, but is still of interest to the general reader. Volume 2 continues examining his work thematically, and includes his work in Peruvian mines.

17. Various inventions
18. Agricultural engines. Loss of papers
19. Pole steam-engine
20. The Watt and the Trevithick engines at Dolcoath
21. Engines for South America
22. Peru
23. Costa Rica
24. Return to England
25. Gun-carriage. Iron ships
26. Tubular boiler. Superheating steam. Surface condenser
27. Heating apparatus. Marine steam-engines. Reform column
Index.

Subject Areas: History of engineering & technology [TBX]