February 21, 1804 - World's First Steam Locomotive

Above is an 1/2 inch scale model (built in 1888) of Richard Trevithick's 1804 locomotive. Courtesy of the National Museum of American History.

It represents the world's first steam powered locomotive used for transportation on rails.    

On February 21, 1804, Richard Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train with five loaded cars along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.         

Richard Trevithick (1771 – 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall, England. His most significant contributions were the development of the first high-pressure steam engine and the first full-scale working railroad steam locomotive.