Some of that time was spent in Holland where he persuaded the Dutch authorities that the best method of draining a lake was by the use of steam power, as opposed to wind.
Gibbs and his partner, Arthur Deane, were commissioned by the Dutch Government to execute the work.
[4] Gibbs had a joint patent, with printer and inventor Augustus Applegarth, awarded on 29 March, 1833, for "certain improvements in steam-carriages.
[2][6] The Bill for the Great Northern Railway was thrown out by parliament[b] so Gibbs re-surveyed the line a few years later, but this was also unsuccessful.
In 1844 the scheme was again brought forward, as the London and York Railway and eventually approved by parliament[b], albeit in a modified form.