The name of Goldsworthy Gurney is probably little known, however we shall see that his contributions to science were innovative and significant.
Gurney was born on February 14, 1793 in the village of Treator, near Padstow. By the age of 20 he had qualified as a doctor and set up a practice in Wadebridge, where he was also married to Elizabeth Symons, a farmers daughter. He is said to have met Trevithick at this time and it is not unreasonable to assume that some of Trevithicks enthusiasm for engineering and invention would have inspired Gurney to investigate the possibilities for himself.
He soon moved to London with his new wife where they moved in scientific circles, leading to his being appointed to the position of lecturer in Chemistry at the Surrey Institute.
In 1825 he invented his first high pressure “horseless” steam carriage, although it was not a great success, due the understandable apprehension of passengers who had to ride in a compartment situated directly above the dangerous steam boiler. He later refined his design to provide a separate carriage which was hauled by the engine, known as the “Gurney Drag”.
In 1829 this steam driven carriage journeyed from London to Bath, although its’ maiden journey was marred by an accident just outside Reading where it collided with the Bristol Mail Coach. It was later attacked by a Luddite mob outside Melksham and had to be escorted into Bath under guard. The average speed for the round trip was 15 mph and is claimed as the first long journey undertaken by a mechanised vehicle at a sustained speed.
This same year Gurney´s steam injection system was installed in George and Robert Stephenson’s “Rocket” for the Rainhill Trials where it attained a speed of 30 mph, a record at that time. However Gurney’s contribution was not acknowledged by the Stephensons, as neither was Trevithicks pioneering work on high pressure steam boilers. Gurney had to later publicly rebuke claims that Stephenson was the inventor of the steam locomotive, an idea which still persists today.
Gurney enjoyed moderate success with this venture but was eventually forced out of business by the coming of the railways. High taxes were imposed on steam driven vehicles by the government as a means of protecting horse carriage owners.
