The Father of American Railroads
John Stevens (1749-1838) was the scion of a prominent family in colonial New Jersey. During the Revolutionary War, he served as state treasurer. In the postwar period, he became intrigued by experiments in steam navigation by men such as John Fitch. At his estate at Castle Point in Hoboken, Stevens devoted the rest of his life to experimenting with the application of steam to travel on water and land. Frustrated by the steamboat monopoly given to Robert Fulton by New York, he turned his attention to the new technology of railroads.
In 1812, he wrote the first American publication promoting the advantages of “steam carriages” over canals, which has been called “the birth certificate of all railroads in the United States.” He prevailed on the New Jersey legislature in 1815 to pass an act “to erect a Rail-Road from the River Delaware, near Trenton, to the River Raritan, at or near New Brunswick”—the first American railroad charter. The law said nothing, however, about what kind of motive power would be used. Stevens was not able to raise funds for the project. In 1825, at age seventy-six, Stevens built on his estate an experimental steam engine “for propelling a carriage on railways.” Guests were delighted to ride at six miles per hour on “the circle at the Hoboken Hotel.” Five years later, the Camden and Amboy Railroad was chartered, and his sons Robert L. and Edwin A. became officers in the fledgling company. When the John Bull locomotive arrived from England in 1831, the old inventor hosted a grand celebration at his estate. John Stevens had lived to see his vision realized.
Title page of Report, on the origin and increase of the Paterson manufactories, and the intended diversion of their waters by the Morris Canal Company: also on post rail roads, as the means of cheap conveyance throughout New-Jersey, of bringing Susquehanna coal to the iron mines and forges, and to supply Paterson and New-York: also on a method of supplying the city of New-York with water from the Great Falls of the Passaic / John L. Sullivan.
John Langdon Sullivan, Report, on the Origin and Increase of the Paterson Manufactories … also on Post Rail Roads, as the Means of Cheap Conveyance throughout New-Jersey … (Paterson, N.J., 1828).
Folded plate from Mr. Sullivan's description of a cheap, durable rail road, and certain routes, in the states of New York and New-Jersey.
John Langdon Sullivan, Mr. Sullivan’s description of a cheap, durable Rail Road, and certain Routes, in the States of New-York and New-Jersey (1827?) An engineering and economic analysis that deals with highways and railroads, including the elevated railway depicted in the sketch. In the section “Comparative advantages of a Railway through New-Jersey,” the author argues in favor of a railroad instead of the proposed Delaware and Raritan Canal.
Portrait of Colonel John Stevens.
Portrait of Colonel John Stevens (1749–1838) (copy). Stevens is considered “the father of American railroads.”
The first American locomotive on rails at Castle Point, Hoboken.
“The First American Locomotive on rails at Castle Point, Hoboken.” From: Archibald Douglas Turnbull, John Stevens: An American Record (New York, 1928), facing p. 449.
Title page of Documents tending to prove the superior advantages of rail-ways and steam-carriages over canal navigation.
John Stevens, Documents Tending to Prove the Superior Advantages of Rail-Ways and Steam-Carriages over Canal Navigation (New York, 1812). Said to be the first American publication on railroads. Stevens predicted that future locomotives could possibly travel at an “astonishing velocity” of 100 miles per hour, but “It is probable that it may not in practice be convenient to exceed twenty or thirty miles per hour.”
Coal burning freight engine built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works, Paterson, N.J.
“Coal Burning Freight Engine” built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works, Paterson, N.J. Lithograph by J. Bien, frontispiece in Alexander L. Holley, American and European Railway Practice in the Economical Generation of Steam (New York, 1861).
An act to incorporate a company to erect a rail-road from the river Delaware, near Trenton, to the river Raritan, at or near New-Brunswick.
“An Act to incorporate a company to erect a Rail-Road from the river Delaware, near Trenton, to the river Raritan, at or near New-Brunswick,” Acts of the Thirty-ninth General Assembly of the State of New-Jersey, … Being the Second Sitting (Trenton, 1815). The earliest railroad act passed in the United States. John Stevens was not able to raise capital to build the railroad, however.
Title page of Acts of the Thirty-ninth General Assembly of the State of New Jersey ... being the second sitting.
Acts of the Thirty-ninth General Assembly of the State of New-Jersey, … Being the Second Sitting (Trenton, 1815).