In association with its son, Robert Stephenson, established the first plant of locomotives of the world. It was considered, then, the inventor of the locomotive the vapor and constructor of the first railroad. When initiating itself it second half of century XIX, the invention of Stephenson already was developed in the Europe and the North America. At least 3.000 kilometers of railway it was extended in Old Continent and 5,000 in the United States. It did not delay very so that these questions related to the invention of the locomotive and the construction of railroads, were known in Brazil. It can be said that the first national, relative initiatives to the construction of railroads retrace to the year of 1828, when the Imperial Government authorizeed for Letter of Law the construction and exploration of roads in general.
The intention was the interconnection of the diverse regions of the Country. In what if it relates specifically to the construction of railroads in Brazil, the Imperial Government consubstanciou in the Law n. 101, of 31 of October of 1835, the concession, with privilege for the stated period of 40 years, to the companies who if considered to construct to railroads, establishing connection Rio De Janeiro, So Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande Do Sul and Bahia. The incentive did not despertou the desired interest therefore the profit perspectives had not been considered enough to attract investments. It is important to detach that, until the arrival of the railroads in Brazil, the terrestrial transport of merchandises if processed in lombo of the donkeys in carroveis roads. At that time, the of the state of Rio de Janeiro ports of Parati and Angra Dos Reis exported about 100 a thousand bags of coffee, proceeding from the Valley of the Paraba. In So Paulo, annually, they arrived at the port of Saints about 200 a thousand loaded crossbows with coffee and other agricultural products.