The São Paulo Railway consists of three parts: Three different systems were used to climb the steep grade between Piaçaguera and Paranapiacaba: In 1859, a group of people led by the Barão de Mauá convinced the Brazilian government that it was important to construct a railroad connecting São Paulo to the seaport at Santos.

The main purpose of the project was the transport of the coffee grown on the inland plateau to the Atlantic coast for export.

The biggest difficulty was the task to overcome the steep east slope of the 800-meter high Serra do Mar, which was considered to be nearly impracticable.

Therefore, Barão de Mauá asked Britain to clarify the feasibility of a railway line for locomotive hauled trains within a budget limit of 200,000 £.

Fox was at that time only 26 years old but had already experience in the construction of railways through the mountains of northern Wales and the hillsides of the Pyrenees.

The railway company contracted with Robert Sharpe & Sons to acquire the land, execute the works and supply all rolling stock and plant.

[7] Construction on the 20 km (12 mi) long adhesion railway Santos – Piaçaguera began on 15 March 1860 and on the incline system in the year 1861.

Embankments of 3 to 20 m (9.8 to 65.6 ft) in height were constructed to protect the tracks from the frequent torrential rains in the area, which used about 230,000 cubic metres (300,000 cu yd) rocks.

The large volume of coffee shipments and the growth of the cities in the São Paulo region required more transport capacity.