John Bull
Built: 1831
Retired: 1866
An English-built railroad steam locomotive, operated for the first time on September 15, 1831; it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world (150 years) 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 built in New Jersey. In 1884 the locomotive was purchased by the Smithsonian Institution as the museum's first major industrial exhibit. As the locomotive's 150th birtday approached, inspections showed that it was still operable, and after some repairs it ran under steam on September 15, 1981, outside Washington, D.C.