On 21 February 1804, history was irrevocably altered as Richard Trevithick’s pioneering steam locomotive chugged to life, marking the first recorded journey of a steam-powered rail vehicle.
Running along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, this revolutionary feat demonstrated the immense potential of steam propulsion, hauling ten tons of iron and around seventy men over a distance of nearly ten miles.
Though plagued by engineering challenges, Trevithick’s invention laid the foundational track for the locomotive-driven industrial era, heralding a future where steam would fuel the arteries of global transportation.