Genius, Richard Trevithick's Steam Engines
Genius, Richard Trevithick's Steam Engines

Author: Philip M. Hosken

Publisher:

Published: 2013-04

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 9781908867056

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Genius' is an over-used, but rarely-accurate, description applied to remarkable figures. In the case of Richard Trevithick, however, its use is not only apt, but could even be regarded as something of an understatement. Philip Hosken's 'Genius' offers a perfect introduction to the great engineer. Combining detailed and original research, the result is a clearly stated, unbiased and readable account of his life and achievements. From childhood and early motivation, through feverish experimentation and frustration, to the eventual triumph of his revolutionary high pressure cylindrical boiler, 1801 road engine and the world's first railway locomotive, the author explains how and why Trevithick became a giant of invention and innovation. Laying to rest myths regurgitated by less-diligent writers, while not neglecting the major contributions to the story of Papin, Newcomen, Savery and others, Hosken employs the kind of scientific rigour which the protagonist of his book might recognise and approve. If you only read one book about Richard Trevithick, make sure it's this one.

A Short History of the Steam Engine
A Short History of the Steam Engine

Author: H. W . Dickinson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-01-27

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 0429751044

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First published in 1938, this volume details the steam engine as the most dynamic factor in the Industrial Revolution, freeing humanity from their age-long dependence upon the power of water, wind, and animals, or of their own muscles. Itself the offspring of coal and iron, it made possible the sinking of deeper mines and the casting and forging of greater quantities of iron, from which machines were constructed to be powered by steam in the factories of the rapidly growing industrial areas. Soon the mass-produced goods from these mills were transported by steam locomotives and steamships all over the world. This was the Age of Steam. Even today, steam turbines still drive the dynamos of our electric power stations, whether fuelled by coal, oil or nuclear energy. Much has been written about the steam engine, but this book, first produced by the late Dr. H.W. Dickinson just before the second World War, is still the best short account. It describes developments from the pioneering efforts of Savery and Newcomen, through the achievements of Watt and Trevethick, down to Parsons and modern times.

The Genius Famine
The Genius Famine

Author: Edward Dutton

Publisher: Legend Press Ltd

Published: 2016-01-22

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 178955148X

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Geniuses are rare and exceptional people.

The Power Makers
The Power Makers

Author: Maury Klein

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2010-09-01

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 1596918349

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Maury Klein is one of America's most acclaimed historians of business and society. In The Power Makers, he offers an epic narrative of his greatest subject yet - the "power revolution" that transformed American life in the course of the nineteenth century. The steam engine; the incandescent bulb; the electric motor-inventions such as these replaced backbreaking toil with machine labor and changed every aspect of daily life in the span of a few generations. The cast of characters includes inventors like James Watt, Elihu Thomson, and Nikola Tesla; entrepreneurs like George Westinghouse; savvy businessmen like J.P. Morgan, Samuel Insull, and Charles Coffin of General Electric. Striding among them like a colossus is the figure of Thomas Edison, who was creative genius and business visionary at once. With consummate skill, Klein recreates their discoveries, their stunning triumphs and frequent failures, and their unceasing, bare-knuckled battles in the marketplace. In Klein's hands, their personalities and discoveries leap off the page. The Power Makers is a dazzling saga of inspired invention, dogged persistence, and business competition at its most naked and cutthroat--a biography of America in its most astonishing decades.

Railway Empire
Railway Empire

Author: Anthony Burton

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1473870410

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The British were at the forefront of railway development for the first fifty years of the nineteenth century. Railway Empire tells the story of how the British gave railways to the world, not only in the empire, but also in other countries outside areas of direct influence. It is often forgotten today that the British were responsible for the construction and management of a large proportion of the railways constructed in Africa, South America and Australasia not to mention many thousands of miles of mileage in Asia, India, Malaya, Burma, China and Japan. This book looks at the political, economic and technical aspects of this development, which made Britain a country at the forefront of this form of transport.

Dangerous Days on the Victorian Railways
Dangerous Days on the Victorian Railways

Author: Terry Deary

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Published: 2014-05-22

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 0297870599

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The Victorians risked more than just delays when boarding a steam train . . . Victorian inventors certainly didn't lack steam, but while they squabbled over who deserved the title of 'The Father of the Locomotive' and enjoyed their fame and fortune, safety on the rails was not their priority. Brakes were seen as a needless luxury and boilers had an inconvenient tendency to overheat and explode, and in turn, blow up anyone in reach. Often recognised as having revolutionised travel and industrial Britain, Victorian railways were perilous. Disease, accidents and disasters accounted for thousands of deaths and many more injuries. While history has focused on the triumph of engineers, the victims of the Victorian railways had names, lives and families and they deserve to be remembered . . .

The Complete History of Railroads
The Complete History of Railroads

Author: Britannica Educational Publishing

Publisher: Britannica Educational Publishing

Published: 2011-11-01

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1615307265

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Traversing landscapes and expediting travel, railroads have allowed us to conquer once elusive frontiers to improve both transportation and commerce. Railroad design has changed remarkably little in the years since the invention of the steam engine, yet trains remain a prevalent form of transport and the railways. The bridges that have been developed to support them continue to be a vital part of infrastructures in countries around the world. This engaging volume examines the evolution of railways, railcars, and bridges, as well as the lives of pioneers and tycoons in the railroad business.