George Overton - Overtaken by Steam

A talk by engineering historians Stephen K Jones and Stephen Rowson

This talk will cover the achievements of George Overton (1775 - 1827) - the early civil engineer and ironmaster who lived at Llandetty Hall near Talybont-on-Usk.

Overton pioneered the use of tramroads for horse-drawn transport of materials in the Industrial Revolution when his expertise in civil engineering helped to shape transport infrastructure in south Wales. His Merthyr Tramroad was also used to trial the world’s first working steam locomotive in 1804. Locally, he engineered the Brinore Tramroad, which connected the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal at Talybont-on-Usk with the Tredegar ironworks and Trefil limestone quarries.

Overton also carried out the initial survey for the Stockton and Darlington Railway as a horse-drawn tramroad in the early 1820s - his work was taken over by George Stephenson who modified the route which became the world’s first public steam-powered railway for passengers and goods in 1825.

George Overton’s contribution to railway engineering was celebrated in 2025 with the 250th anniversary of his birth and the bicentenary of the birth of the modern railway - ‘Railway 200’.