Trevithick 200, Bridgnorth
Catch me who can
20 July 2008
Trevithick's original "Catch me who can" was built 200 years
ago - at the Hazeldine foundry in Bridgnorth. Now a replica is
nearing completion, marking the 200th anniversary. It wasn't
quite complete for the "Trevithick 200" rally at
Severn Park in Bridgnorth - but it did make a
public appearence, along with the
replica of Trevithick's pioneering 1802
Coalbrookdale locomotive.
Trevithick didn't just build railway
locomotives - he started with road
vehicles. Replicas of two of these were
present and in action - the Camborne
locomotive of 1801 "Puffing Devil" (we didn't see it
move) and the London Steam Carriage of 1803, an
amazing machine with 8' diameter wheels and the
"coach" high above the machinery.
Hancock's (replica) "Enterprise" steam
coach of 1832 provided further
entertainment, and another (I've been
unable to identify it more precisely) 3-
wheeled steam-powered machine came
trundling in from a run along the main
road, much to the consternation of
motorists.
Road-going steam vehicles eventually developed along somewhat
different lines to those foreseen by Trevithick et al. - into the
traction engines and steam rollers that added to the attraction
of this event. Not forgetting, of course, that Sentinel of
Shrewsbury didn't just make railway locomotives...
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Video: The replica of the 1802 Coalbrookdale
locomotive in action at Ironbridge power station,
May 1997
