The Stevens Family and Transportation The father John Stevens and his sons made numerous contributions of the building of steamboats,and his two sons, Robert Livingston Stevens and Edwin Augustus,made long distance railroading.Their contributions were mainly concerned with the essential problem of railroad tracks,the size and speed of trains. Without such gradual development of the technology,the long distance, many carriage freight trains would not have been feasible.The Stevens Family and Transportation • The father John Stevens and his sons made numerous contributions of the building of steamboats, and his two sons, Robert Livingston Stevens and Edwin Augustus, made long distance railroading. Their contributions were mainly concerned with the essential problem of railroad tracks, the size and speed of trains. Without such gradual development of the technology, the long distance, many carriage freight trains would not have been feasible