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Robert
Davidson was a Scottish inventor who built the first
known electric locomotive in 1837. He was a permanent resident
of Aberdeen, northeast Scotland, where he was a good chemist and dyer,
amongst other ventures. Davidson was educated at Marischal College, where
he studied second and third-year classes from 1819-1821, including lectures
from Professor Patrick Copland. He got this education in return for being
a lab assistant. In
the 1820s, he set up in business close to the Aberdeen-Inverurie Canal, at
first supplying yeast, before becoming involved in the manufacture and supply
of chemicals. He
became interested in the new electrical technologies of the day. From 1837, he
made small electric motors on his principles and ideas. After
that Davidson started an exhibition of electrical machinery at Aberdeen,
Scotland, and in Edinburgh where it was kept to show on February 12,
1842, by the young James Clerk Maxwell. Later
he exhibited at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly in London,
where he thought to attract sponsorship for his work. Among his locomotive
machine, an electrically driven lathe and printing press, and an electromagnet
capable of lifting 2 tons were also kept for exhibition. In
1837, Davidson produced a model electric locomotive. His four-wheeled Galvani
from 1842 was propelled by zinc-acid batteries. Although it was determined to
be capable of moving itself at 4 mph during testing on the Edinburgh-Glasgow
line in September 1842, it did not transport any people or goods. Davidson had
a chemistry background and built a profitable company making synthetic yeast
for the brewing and baking sectors. He now had more time to spend on his
electromagnetic interest. Being a practical man, he created his chemical
batteries and was enthusiastic about the possibilities of electromagnetic power
equipment. He created a printing press, a turning lathe, and a four-wheeled
vehicle using Davidson's patents by the year 1839. He
asked the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway's board of directors for help creating
an electromagnetic locomotive. The goal of Davidson was to convince the
brand-new railway corporation that electric locomotives were a viable
alternative. The Royal Scottish Society for Arts gave him a £15 grant when he
received their support for his endeavors. His 16-foot-long, four-wheeled
Galvani locomotive, which was powered by Davidson's batteries, was built at
full scale. It served as the first electrically propelled railway locomotive in
the world when it was tested in 1842 on a portion of the Edinburgh to Glasgow
line. The locomotive's only claim to fame was that it could run at 4 mph, which
was scarcely practical given that the batteries could not be recharged. The
directors weren't convinced enough to request that Davidson develop the idea
further. According to reports, the locomotive was destroyed while being kept at
Perth's engine house. His
Legacy He
has been called an electrical visionary and a forgotten hero. He was unable to
attract rail businesses because the technology he used was too pricey. The
Aberdeen Banner had prophesied that the type of machinery he was making
"will in no distant date supplant steam" in 1840, but it wasn't until
the introduction of electric locomotives in the 1890s that the media began to
take notice of what he had accomplished. The Electrician magazine stated that
Robert Davidson "was undoubtedly the first to demonstrate the possibility
of electrical traction in a practical way" and referred to him as the
"oldest living electrician". The Grampian Transport Museum has a model of his electrical motor that is still functional. |