John Bull (locomotive) - Timeline

Timeline

• June 18, 1831: The John Bull is constructed by Stephenson and Company in England.
• 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.
• Oct. 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.