George Medhurst

Who was George Medhurst?

George Medhurst was a mechanical engineer and inventor, who pioneered the use of compressed air as a means of propulsion. His ideas led directly to the development of the first atmospheric railway.

He was born in Shoreham, Kent and trained as a clockmaker at Clerkenwell, London, but later became interested in pneumatics.

In 1799, he filed a patent for a wind pump for compressing air to obtain motive power and the following year he patented his ‘Aeolian’ engine which used compressed air to power vehicles. In his pamphlet On the properties, power, & application of the Aeolian engine, with a plan and particulars for carrying it into execution, Medhurst proposed the establishment of Aeolian coach services, operated by pumping stations along the route.

In 1810, he published A new method of conveying letters and goods with great certainty and rapidity by air, but did not patent the idea. This was followed in 1812 by his Calculations and remarks tending to prove the practicability, effects and advantages of a plan for the rapid conveyance of goods and passengers upon an iron road through a tube of 30 feet in area by the power and velocity of air.