An important early engine, the original was concocted from a stationary steam engine mounted on wheels. In 1804 it famously won a wager for its sponsor, pulling a ten ton load of iron from Merthyr Tydfil to Penydarren along the horse tramway.
It took just over four hours to complete the trip - the weight of the engine breaking the rails along the way - but the wager was won, it proved that a steam engine could do a useful job of work pulling a train.
The model features prototypically correct flangeless wheels, around 3 1/2 inch gauge to centre of the treads - you'll need to knock up a length of plateway to run it along!
The National Waterfront Museum of Wales built a super full-sized working replica in 1981 which is run occasionally - it's well worth watching their video to see 200 year old technology in motion!
length/inches | 12 |
width/inches | 5 1/2 |
height/inches | 9 1/2 |