Steam Locomotive, <I>John Bull</I>
date: label: Date made
content: 1831
name: label: user
content: Camden and Amboy Railroad
label: user
content: Stevens, Robert
label: assembled by
content: Dripps, Isaac
label: maker
content: Robert Stephenson and Company
notes: label: Description
content: Knowing the best locomotives were made in England, Robert Stevens ordered one from Robert Stevenson & Company of New Castle for the Camden and Amboy Railroad which ran across central New Jersey. The "John Bull," named later for the mythical gentleman who symbolized England, was the result.
label: Description
content: The locomotive was built as a standard 0-4-0 Planet class. Never seeing a locomotive before, Isaac Dripps, a young steamboat mechanic, assembled the engine from the parts that arrived in New Jersey in September 1831. It was tested that same month. The locomotive proved vulnerable to derailment. Dripps installed an extra pair of wheels, carried in a frame out front. Stevens called them "guide wheels"; they helped to steer the locomotive in curves and over uneven rails. The innovation worked so well that the Camden and Amboy bought 15 American copies of "John Bull" with the added wheels. By the end of the 1830s, American manufacturers were building locomotives and exporting to Russia and other countries that had vast terrain much like America.
label: Description
content: The steam locomotive "John Bull" ran for 35 years, pulling trains of passengers and cargo between the two largest cities of the time, Philadelphia and New York. A short ferry ride connected Camden with Philadelphia and a longer ferry run connected South Amboy with New York. The locomotive propelled trains at 25 to 30 miles per hour.
place: label: Place Made
content: United Kingdom: England, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne
label: place assembled
content: United States: New Jersey
topic: label: Subject
content: Railroads
label: Subject
content: Locomotives
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Transportation, Railroad
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
label: Exhibition
content: East End First Floor Lobby
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.180001
label: accession number
content: 15804
label: catalog number
content: 180001
objectType: label: Object Name
content: locomotive
label: Object Name
content: locomotive, full size
label: Other Terms
content: locomotive, steam; Rail
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: iron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: copper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 1/2 ft x 7 1/2 ft x 36 1/4 ft; 3.5052 m x 2.286 m x 11.049 m