John Bull was built by Robert Stephenson & Co. in England and imported in 1831 for the Camden & Amboy Railroad in New Jersey.
The locomotive arrived disassembled in crates. Isaac Dripps, a young mechanic who had never previously seen a locomotive, assembled the machine in New Jersey.
The original engine was a 0-4-0 Planet-type locomotive.
American track conditions quickly exposed a problem: the locomotive was prone to derailment on uneven track and sharper curves.
Dripps added front guide wheels in a separate frame. The modification helped steer the locomotive and became part of the American adaptation of imported railway technology.
Additional changes over its service life altered the locomotive’s appearance, including a cab and other practical modifications.
John Bull worked for roughly 35 years hauling passengers and freight on a route that formed part of the connection between Philadelphia and New York.
The locomotive entered the Smithsonian in the nineteenth century and survives as an original artifact rather than a replica.
In 1981 the Smithsonian operated John Bull under steam for its 150th anniversary after technical evaluation, making it one of the oldest operable self-propelled vehicles ever demonstrated in modern preservation.
For TransitSatellite, John Bull should be shown as a changing machine. Its 1831 imported form, later service configuration, and present museum condition are not identical.