page_title: John Bull (locomotive)
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: John Bull (locomotive) / Timeline
caption_attribution_description: English: "John Bull" locomotive, National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.
context_page_description: John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981. Built by Robert Stephenson and Company, the John Bull was initially purchased by and operated for the Camden and Amboy Railroad, the first railroad in New Jersey, which gave John Bull the number 1 and its first name, "Stevens". The C&A used the locomotive heavily from 1833 until 1866, when it was removed from active service and placed in storage.
  After the C&A's assets were acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1871, the PRR refurbished and operated the locomotive a few times for public displays: it was fired up for the Centennial Exposition in 1876 and again for the National Railway Appliance Exhibition in 1883. In 1884 the locomotive was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution as the museum's first major industrial exhibit.
context_section_description: June 18, 1831: The John Bull is built by Stephenson and Company in Britain.
  July 14, 1831: The John Bull departs Liverpool aboard the ship Allegheny bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  September 4, 1831: The John Bull arrives in Philadelphia.
  September 15, 1831: The John Bull makes its first runs in New Jersey under its own power.
  November 12, 1831: Robert Stevens hosts a group of New Jersey politicians on a series of trial runs pulled by the John Bull.
  1833: The John Bull is one of a few locomotives operating on the newly completed Camden and Amboy Railroad.
  1866: The John Bull is retired from regular service.
  1876: The John Bull is displayed at the United States Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
  1883: The Pennsylvania Railroad displays John Bull at the National Railway Appliance Exhibition in Chicago, Illinois.
  1884: The Smithsonian Institution acquires the John Bull from the Pennsylvania Railroad
  1893: The John Bull operates at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
  1910: The original tender, now deteriorated beyond repair, is dismantled by Smithsonian staff. Usable fittings from the tender are placed in storage.
  1927: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad borrows the John Bull to operate at the Fair of the Iron Horse in Baltimore, Maryland.
  1930: A replica tender is commissioned by the Smithsonian and built by the Pennsylvania Railroad using the fittings previously salvaged from the original tender; the new tender is displayed with the locomotive at the museum.
  November 12, 1931: The Smithsonian celebrates the locomotive's 100th "birthday," using compressed air to operate the stationary engine (stabilized on jacks) within the museum's exhibit hall.
  1933–1934: The Pennsylvania Railroad borrows the John Bull to display it at the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago.
  1939: The original John Bull is displayed in the opening of the New York World's Fair
  1940: A replica of the John Bull, built by engineers at the Pennsylvania Railroad's Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania, is displayed at the New York World's Fair, and the original is returned to the Smithsonian.
  October 14, 1980: The John Bull is restored to operating condition, and tested on the Warrenton Branch Line in Fauquier County, Virginia.
  September 15, 1981: The John Bull operates in Washington, D.C., on the 150th anniversary of its first use, becoming the oldest operable steam locomotive (and oldest self-propelled vehicle) in the world.
  1985: The John Bull is carried aboard an airplane for an exhibition in  Dallas, Texas, making it the oldest locomotive in the world to travel by air.
caption: John Bull locomotive at the National Museum of American History
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