Editing Cowcatcher (section)

==Invention==
An idea for a cowcatcher was proposed by [[Charles Babbage]] in 1830, during his period of working for the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]].<ref>{{cite book |last = Hyman |first = Anthony |author-link=R. Anthony Hyman|title=[[Charles Babbage: Pioneer of the Computer]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year = 1982 |isbn = 0-19-858170-X |pages = 142f <!-- URL is linked to from Wikipedia page linked to by title param. | url = https://archive.org/details/charlesbabbagepi0000hyma/page/142 | access-date = 22 April 2025 -->  | quote = Babbage suggested to Hodgson of the railway company what was later to be called a 'cow-catcher' for sweeping obstacles off the line.}}</ref> However, Babbage's invention was not constructed, and it is uncertain whether later manufacturers were aware of Babbage's idea.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The first practical cowcatcher is widely credited to Isaac Dripps, who fitted one to the [[John Bull (locomotive)]] in 1833,<ref>{{cite book |last= White |first= John |author-link= |date= 1979|title= A History of the American Locomotive |location = Garden City, NY | publisher= Dover Publications |page= 211, 265 |isbn=9780486238180 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1A4iiGAz628C | access-date = }} </ref> shortly after steam haulage commenced on the [[Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company | Camden and Amboy Railroad]].{{cn|date=April 2025}} His design is described and illustrated in [[David Stevenson (engineer)| David Stevenson]]'s book ''Sketch of the Civil Engineering of North America'', published in 1838.{{full|date=April 2025}}