From this booklet. Available from Radstock Museum.
Early locomotive
"William Ashman, the resident colliery engineer at Clandown, proved his considerable innovative abilities by designing and building what was probably on of the first workable steam locomotives in this country. The subsequent report in the Bath Herald for August 12 1826 mentioned that he designed:
'...a loco-motive Steam Carriage, for the conveyance of coal from the above collieries to Midford Wharf, which appears to be the lightest and on the most improved principles, of any hitherto invented. Its weight with the cistern full of water in the back part, is 2 tons 3 cwt: and it's velocity, with 9 loaded wagons, 27 cwt each, at a medium, on a level plane, 3½ miles per hour.'
It was placed into service in August 1827 to haul trains between Radstock and Midford but unfortunately the weight of the locomotive was too great for the frail track and this caused its premature withdrawal from service. It was not scrapped but continued in use as a stationary haulage engine at Clandown colliery. Considering that Ashman's locomotive pre-dates Stephenson's Rocket by two years it must have been a great feat at the time and would have made a very interesting and rather unusual sight as it slowly hauled its train of coal out of Radstock.
