<P> Richard Trevithick ( 13 April 1771 -- 22 April 1833 ) was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall , England . The son of a mining captain , and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall , Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age . He performed poorly in school , but went on to be an early pioneer of steam - powered road and rail transport . His most significant contribution was the development of the first high - pressure steam engine . He also built the first full - scale working railway steam locomotive . The world 's first locomotive - hauled railway journey took place on 21 February 1804 , when Trevithick 's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks , in Merthyr Tydfil , Wales . </P>
<P> Richard Trevithick ( 13 April 1771 -- 22 April 1833 ) was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall , England . The son of a mining captain , and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall , Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age . He performed poorly in school , but went on to be an early pioneer of steam - powered road and rail transport . His most significant contribution was the development of the first high - pressure steam engine . He also built the first full - scale working railway steam locomotive . The world 's first locomotive - hauled railway journey took place on 21 February 1804 , when Trevithick 's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks , in Merthyr Tydfil , Wales . </P>
who invented the first full scale working railway steam locomotive
who invented the first full scale working railway steam locomotive
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick