Robert Livingston Stevens

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Robert Livingston Stevens (born October 18, 1787 in Hoboken , New Jersey , † 1856 ibid) was an American engineer and designer who devoted his skills in particular to railway engineering , steamships and ferry boats . He was the son of Colonel John Stevens and was President of the Camden and Amboy Railroad and developer of the broad-foot rail . His brother John Cox Stevens was a businessman and first Commodore of the New York Yacht Club .

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Stevens developed 1830 / 31 from the mushroom rail statically favorable Breitfußschiene. The broad foot rail is characterized by a wide foot on which a narrow bar and above the rail head sits.

The rail was first used in 1832 on the Camden and Amboy Railroad in New Jersey on the main line and in a stronger version on the branch line. The first wide base rails had an asymmetrical head design with a 1:20 inclined profile, later symmetrical rails were built and the entire rail was simply inclined.

Other inventions by Stevens were the rail bolts and connecting plates as well as numerous improvements to steam ships.

Stevens brought the Stephenson- built John Bull locomotive from England to the USA as the first economically viable locomotive, where it was assembled and fitted with a cow catcher by his chief engineer Isaac Dripps .

The Camden and Amboy Railroad he directed was indispensable for supplies and troop transport during the American Civil War . In 1871 she was taken over by the Pennsylvania Railroad . Together with his brother Edwin Augustus , he constructed the first ironclad for the United States Navy , the Stevens Battery , in 1844 .

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