Catch Me Who Can

Catch Me Who Can was the fourth and last steam railway locomotive created by the inventor and mining engineer Richard Trevithick.

It was demonstrated to the public at Trevithick's "Steam Circus", a circular track in Bloomsbury, just south of the present-day Euston Square tube station, in London.

While the advantages and applications of steam locomotives had been demonstrated, the venture was a financial failure that played a significant part in Trevithick's bankruptcy in 1809.

[1] During the late 1700s and early 1800s, the inventor and mining engineer Richard Trevithick was the primary developer of the steam locomotive.

[3] The site is believed to be under University College London’s Chadwick Building, which now houses the Centre for Transport Studies.

[1] In spite of his goal of introducing steam locomotion to the public, Trevithick built a high wooden fence around the demonstration track, concealing it from view to all but those who paid to enter.

Trial runs began around 24 July 1808, but almost immediately the ground under the track sank, causing the iron rails to break as the 8-ton locomotive passed over them.

[3] In 2008, the curator of the National Museum of Science and Industry, John Liffen, announced that the most widely-known depiction of Catch Me Who Can and the Bloomsbury demonstration track was likely a twentieth century forgery.

[8] A replica is under construction by the Trevithick 200 charity at the Severn Valley Railway workshops, close to the site where the original locomotive was built.