One of his earliest inventions, patented in 1838, was railway points,[1][failed verification] which superseded the sliding rail used up to that time.

In 1837 Robert Stephenson appointed him as one of the engineers on the London and Birmingham Railway, where he was responsible for Watford tunnel and the incline down from Camden Town to Euston.

[5] The company specialised in railway equipment, including wheels, bridges, roofs, cranes, tanks and permanent way materials.

[citation needed] One notable employee of Fox, Henderson & Co. was William Siemens, a pioneering mechanical and electrical engineer.

[5] Fox and Henderson's expertise with structural ironwork led Joseph Paxton to invite them to build The Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

[citation needed] In 1856 Fox Henderson went into liquidation after sustaining losses building railways in Zealand, Denmark.