Robert Stephenson - International Activities

International Activities

Robert Stephenson's advice on railway matters was sought after in various countries. In France, he advised his friend and French engineer Paulin Talabot during the years 1837 to 1840 on the construction of the Chemins de fer du Gard from Beaucaire to Alès. He made journeys to Spain to advise on the construcition of the Railway from the Bay of Biscay to Madrid and visited the line Orléans - Tours. On Prosper Enfantin's initiative, he and Talabot and Alois Negrelli became members of the Société d'Études du canal de Suez in 1846, where they studied the feasibility of the Suez canal. In late 1850, he was called by the Swiss Federal Council to advise on the future Swiss railway net and its financial implications. From 1851 to 1853, he built the railway from Alexandria to Cairo, which was extended to Suez in 1858.