John Bull (locomotive)
| "John Bull" ex "Stevens" | |
|---|---|
 John Bull, around 1893
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| Manufacturer: | Stephenson & Company, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Year of construction (s): | 1831 again in 1981 |
| Retirement: | 1866 |
| Axis formula : | B, after conversion 1'1A |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Total wheelbase: | 1400 mm |
| Service mass: | approx. 10 t |
| Service mass with tender: | approx. 20 t |
| Top speed: | approx. 50 km / h |
| Coupling wheel diameter: | 1372 mm |
| Number of cylinders: | 2 |
| Cylinder diameter: | 229 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 508 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 4.8 bar |
| Number of heating pipes: | 62 / 50.8 mm |
| Heating pipe length: | 2287 mm |
| Grate area: | 3.34 m² |
| Tubular heating surface: | 19.8 m² |
| Evaporation heating surface: | 23.15 m² |
The John Bull is a steam locomotive built in the 19th century in England for the Camden and Amboy Railroad in the USA .
Among the first locomotives to operate in the United States, the John Bull was the sixth. This was preceded on the one hand by the Stourbridge Lion, built in England in 1828, and its two sister machines, Hudson and Delaware, and the Pride of Newcastle from Robert Stephenson's workshop; they were all imported by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company . On the other hand, the Best Friend of Charleston and Tom Thumb , built by Peter Cooper's Canton Eisenwerk near Baltimore, preceded it in 1830 , the first steam locomotives made exclusively in the USA.
The John Bull first sailed in 1831 and was decommissioned in 1866. Since the Smithsonian Institution put the now 150-year-old locomotive back into service in 1981, it has been considered the oldest still operational steam locomotive in the world. Today the John Bull resides in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC , and a replica of the vehicle from 1939 can be seen regularly in service at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania .
construction
Note: In the absence of documents, it is difficult to precisely describe the drive and control in particular. The following illustration tries to translate the description in Evolution of American Locomotives into the terminology used in this country. Errors in detail cannot be ruled out.
general structure
The John Bull was built in England by Robert Stephenson and Company for the Camden and Amboy Railroad (C&A), the first railroad in New Jersey.
The base and connecting element for the main assemblies of the machine is a 4.5 meter long and 1.9 meter wide frame that surrounds the wheels from the outside. Later, more modern locomotives, on the other hand, almost exclusively had a frame located inside between the wheels. This frame is carried by two sets of wheels , both of which served as driving wheels in the original version . This results in the B wheel sequence . In the upper part, the frame carries the fire box with the steam boiler at the rear . The frame is pulled back so far that a platform for the operating team could be laid out on it - at that time still an innovation for the first steam locomotives. The drive cylinders are arranged under the boiler in front of the first drive axle.
Boiler and furnace
The cylindrical, 1067 mm long boiler is positioned horizontally as a long boiler on the frame and, as one of the first designs of this type, has a divided smoke chamber at the front end , from which the smoke outlet leads upwards. The boiler is traversed by 62 heating pipes with a diameter of 50.8 mm, which transfer the heat of the exhaust gases on the way from the fire box to the smoke chamber to the surrounding boiler water. The total heating surface of these heating pipes is almost 20 square meters. The 1093 mm long and 966 mm wide fire box at the rear end is intended for heating with firewood and has a heating surface of around 3 square meters at the points of contact with the boiler water.
landing gear
The drive wheels have a diameter of 1.37 meters and are arranged one behind the other with an axle spacing of 1.4 meters. The wheel hubs are made of cast iron , the spokes and rims were originally made of robinia wood , and the three-quarters of an inch (19 mm) thick wheel tires were made of forged iron. The axle shaft ends are led through the frame to the outside and are each provided with a short crank lever . In the original version, a coupling rod was attached to the pin of the crank lever on both sides , which forced the wheels to rotate together. The axle of the front wheel set was a simple through shaft . In contrast, there is a complicated crank mechanism between the rear wheels.
drive
The drive rods or crank rods moved by the pistons and piston rods are hinged downwards at the front end of the piston rods and guided under the drive cylinders and the first drive axle to the rear of the crank mechanism , where they are hinged to the eccentric shaft. These connecting rods are extended a little further back beyond this point of articulation and, with the movement of these ends, alternately actuate the valves for the steam supply line to the cylinders. With the forward and backward movement of the connecting rods, the eccentric crank and thus the wheels are set in rotating motion, which leads to the travel movement on the rails.
Control for the direction of travel
The not-too-detailed representation in Evolution of American Locomotives suggests the following:
- The rear axle is not a continuous unit, rather the rear wheels have short axle journals on which the crank eccentric shaft rests.
- The eccentric arms are not fixed on the stub axle, but rather loosely rotating.
- They can also be moved sideways on the stub axle by a small amount.
- On the axle journal and on the eccentric joints there are toothing devices that mesh at the end point of each lateral displacement of the eccentric and force the wheels to rotate together with the eccentric crank.
- In the middle shift position, the eccentric crank can be turned freely on the stationary wheel axles.
- The lateral connection brackets for the eccentric shaft are each offset by 180 °. This means that if the eccentric shaft is moved from the fixed position “left” to the end position “right”, it must first rotate through 180 ° in order to lock in “right” for a “fixed” connection with the wheels.
If the direction of travel of the locomotive was to be changed, the following happened:
- The machinist released the lock on the eccentric crankshaft with a foot lever and moved it to the central, freely rotatable position.
- The cylinder valves under the driver's cab platform were lifted off the ends of the drive rod or crank rod with a hand lever (or vice versa).
- With levers on the valves, the operator could individually control the steam supply to the cylinders by hand and thus move the eccentric crank back and forth until it was in the "correct" position - offset by 180 ° - for the new direction of travel.
- Now the eccentric shaft was laterally engaged in the toothing in this position and locked, and the valve control was reconnected to the ends of the connecting rod.
- After this shift of the crank engagement point by 180 °, the wheels then turned in the opposite direction as before.
Cost and completion
The cost of manufacture was £ 785. After the initial assembly, the machine was dismantled again for shipping and transported to America in boxes on board the " Allegheny " . The capable and knowledgeable machinist Isaac Dripps from C&A reassembled the locomotive, which was delivered without drawings or instructions. The locomotive was then given the designation No. 1.
Additional tender
Since no tender was included, the machinist Isaac Dripps built a four-wheeled cart on which a whiskey barrel was attached as a water container. A leather hose connected the barrel to the machine.
Conversions
After commissioning, it turned out that the tracks in the curves were too narrow for the locomotive, even though it already had a comparatively short wheelbase. In order to avoid the resulting problems, for example the risk of derailment, the coupling rods were removed and the bearings of the front, now idle, axle were given a lateral play of 1 ½ inches (approx. 37 mm). In addition, a leading axle was swiveled in a frame on the front of the frame in order to achieve better tracking. After these modifications, the John Bull had an axle sequence of "1'1 A" - with a leading swiveling axle, a fixed following (former drive axle) and a rear driven axle.
In the pictures, the running axle frame attached to the front of the main frame is pulled up in an unusual way to the level of the first, previous driving axle. This arrangement was possibly used to push the axis of the previous first drive wheel set ahead of the curve in the opposite direction with the pivoting movement of the bogie, in order to let the three wheel sets run one behind the other in a slight arc.
During these modifications, the wooden wheel spokes were also replaced by cast iron wheel bodies. The steam dome , which had previously been placed on top of the fire box, was placed in front of the former manhole and the fire box was clad with wood.
In order to protect the crew and the brakemen from the bad weather, the attached tank truck or tender was equipped with a cabin by C&A and the roof was pulled up over the driver's cab . In addition, safety devices such as a bell and headlights were added.
Operation and use
First commissioning
The first commissioning took place in September 1831. On November 12, 1831, the President of the C&A, Robert Livingston Stevens , invited the New Jersey members of parliament and local dignitaries to a short test drive with the new locomotive. The passengers also included Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew , Prince Murat.
Until the completion of the railway line in 1833, the locomotive remained out of service, until then it was operated with draft horses . The C&A marked their first locomotives with numbers and names. The delivered machine was given the number 1 and named Stevens after the first president of the railway company. In the course of time, however, the locomotive crews increasingly called their machine the old John Bull as a tribute to the well-known symbolic figure John Bull because of its English origins . Eventually this name was shortened to John Bull and soon became more common than the official name.
After the locomotive had been operated as a shunter for years, it was withdrawn from service in 1866 and parked in Bordentown . After that, the machinery used the pump and steam boiler to run a sawmill.
PR workhorse of the PRR
In 1869 the C&A was taken over by the "United New Jersey Railroad and Canals Company" , which in 1871 became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The PRR had the locomotive renovated because they wanted to use it for public relations. However, the PRR attached great importance to the fact that the locomotive was a little "aged" during the renovation. In the PRR locomotive workshop, for example, some original parts were replaced by old-looking parts or completely removed. The chimney was replaced by a metal pipe and the cabin was dismantled again.
After the renovation, the PRR showed the locomotive at various exhibitions for a while to advertise the railway company. The John Bull was seen in operation during the world exhibition " Centennial Exposition " in 1876, for example. The PRR also exhibited the locomotive at the National Railway Appliance Exhibition in Chicago in 1883 . The following year, the Smithsonian Institution acquired the John Bull as the first major machine.
Takeover by the Smithsonian Institution
In the Smithsonian Institution, the PRR found a new home for its historic locomotive and a suitable job for the engineer J. Elfreth Watkins. Watkins had lost a leg in a work accident a few years earlier. This meant that he could no longer meet the physical requirements of rail service, so that the railway company employed him in administration for a while. Because of his abilities, he became a specialist curator for the “Arts and Industries Building” of the Smithsonian Institution, which opened in 1880, and looked after the locomotive there for the next few years. Watkins also ensured that the PRR and the Smithsonian Institution would continue to work together for years to come.
The locomotive was first shown to the public in the East Hall of the Arts and Industries Building on December 22, 1884 . Except for a few occasions, it was there for the next 80 years.
World Exhibition 1893
Perhaps the most important exhibition of the locomotive outside the Smithsonian Institution was the 1893er World's Fair World's Columbian Exposition , to which the locomotive to Chicago traveled. The Pennsylvania Railroad, like most other companies, planned a major exhibition about their development. The PRR therefore agreed that the locomotive and some wagons should be brought to the workshops in Jersey City (New Jersey). A restoration should take place there, which would allow operation again. In view of the importance of the locomotive for American railroad history, the locomotive should be honored in a special way. For this purpose, the PRR and the Smithsonian Institution planned that the locomotive would independently manage the route between New Jersey and Chicago.
The overhaul of the locomotive was overseen by the PRR Chief Engineer Theodore N. Ely. After a test drive to Perth Amboy , New Jersey (80.5 km in 2 hours and 15 minutes), Ely was convinced that the locomotive was working reliably enough to enable the governors of the states to be passed through as well as the US President Grover Cleveland for the journey to Invite Chicago.
The John Bull pulled some passenger cars with dignitaries and press representatives on their way from Perth Amboy to Chicago, which first led to Philadelphia . From Philadelphia, locomotive drivers drove as pilots for the rest of the route to Chicago, where the train arrived on April 22nd. During its journey, the locomotive had reached an average speed of 40 to 50 km / h. Rides were offered to visitors at the exhibition. The return journey of the locomotive began on December 6th; on December 13th the locomotive was back in Washington, DC
The "Fair of the Iron Horse"
In 1927 the locomotive left the museum again. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad celebrated its 100th anniversary with the Fair of the Iron Horse in Baltimore . Since the tender had already been scrapped in 1910 because of its poor condition, the PRR had a replica made in its workshop in Altoona (Pennsylvania). In addition, the locomotive was overhauled there to ensure steam operation during the exhibition. This was the last chance to see the locomotive under steam until 1980.
The hundredth birthday
After returning to the Smithsonian after the 1893 World's Fair, the locomotive remained on permanent display for the next several decades. In 1930 the museum commissioned the PRR workshop in Altoona to build a second tender. This time, the fittings from the original tender were used again for the replica, which had been kept 20 years earlier when the original was scrapped.
In 1931 the Smithsonian Institution celebrated the locomotive's hundredth "birthday". However, the museum did not have sufficient financial means to get the locomotive into working order. It was therefore decided to show the locomotive powered by compressed air. The museum borrowed an 1836 passenger car from the Pennsylvania Railroad to show it behind the locomotive with the newly built tender. The official celebrations took place on November 12, 1931. The celebrations with the "running" of the locomotive were broadcast on CBS Radio .
The last shows outside of the Smithsonians
In 1933, the PRR borrowed the locomotive again for the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago. In contrast to the previous trip, this time the locomotive was loaded and only exhibited. During this exhibition it was decided that the PRR workshop in Altoona should make an operational replica. In 1939, the workers at the PRR locomotive workshop in Altoona, Pennsylvania began building an operational replica. This should be used for further exhibitions as the Smithsonian Institution wanted to keep the original locomotive in a controlled environment. In 1940, this replica first drove at the New York World's Fair , while the original locomotive and the reconstructed tender were allowed to return to the museum.
The locomotive was last shown outdoors in 1939. Due to the fragile condition of the locomotive, the museum curators decided not to hold any further outdoor exhibitions. The locomotive was therefore shown in the east hall of the museum for the next 25 years. In 1964 the locomotive was transported to its present home, the National Museum of American History , then called the National Museum of History and Technology.
Restart after 150 years
The Smithsonian commemorated the locomotive's 150th birthday in 1981 in a special way; it was put under steam again and has since been considered the oldest working locomotive in the world.
Before the engine's 150th birthday, discussions began at the Smithsonian on how best to take into account the importance and age of the locomotive. The curators of the Smithsonians agreed that its importance as the oldest existing locomotive or its use on the first railroad in New Jersey had been underestimated in the exhibition literature.
First checks on the locomotive in 1980 showed that the locomotive was in relatively good mechanical condition and that no serious damage could be found. When the wheels were lifted from the rails on which they had stood for 50 years, the axles also proved to be freely movable. In January 1980, museum employees used compressed air to drive the cylinders and set the wheels in motion through the drive rods as they did 50 years ago. The controls also appeared to be in good condition. The only thing that remained unclear was whether the locomotive's boiler could withstand the steam pressure and fire.
The museum commissioned the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company to check the boiler suitability for commissioning. The examination took place for three days outside the opening hours of the museum between 6:30 p.m. and 4 a.m. and included electromagnetic, ultrasound and X-ray examinations. The results showed that there were some hairline cracks in the kettle. It was therefore decided to operate the kettle at a lower pressure of 50 psi (3.45 bar). The original boiler pressure when delivered to C&A was 70 psi (4.82 bar). The management of the Smithsonian decided after a few more hydrostatic tests that the locomotive could again be operated on its own. After the final repairs were carried out, the locomotive was back on its own on September 15, 1981 outside Washington (DC). This made the locomotive the oldest operating steam locomotive in the world.
The original John Bull is now in the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC The replica of the John Bull from 1939 is currently owned and operated by the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
chronology
- June 18, 1831: The John Bull is completed by Stephenson and Company in England.
- July 14, 1831: The John Bull is loaded in Liverpool for the voyage to Philadelphia .
- September 4, 1831: The John Bull arrives on board the Allegheny in Philadelphia.
- September 15, 1831: The John Bull makes her first steam ride in New Jersey.
- November 12, 1831: Robert Livingston Stevens transports several politicians from New Jersey to screenings on the John Bull .
- 1833: The John Bull is one of the locomotives to start operating on the newly built Camden and Amboy Railroad .
- 1866: The John Bull is taken out of service.
- 1876: The John Bull is shown at the World's Fair Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
- 1883: The Pennsylvania Railroad shows the John Bull at the National Railway Appliance Exhibition in Chicago .
- 1884: The Smithsonian Institution acquires the John Bull from the Pennsylvania Railroad.
- 1893: The John Bull is used at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
- 1910: The original, in disrepair, tender is scrapped by Smithsonian staff. However, usable fittings of the tender are preserved.
- 1927: The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad borrows the John Bull to operate during the Fair of the Iron Horse in Baltimore .
- 1930: The Smithsonian commissions the Pennsylvania Railroad to rebuild the tender using the original fittings that were still there. The tender is exhibited with the locomotive in the museum.
- November 12, 1931: The Smithsonian celebrates the locomotive's 100th birthday . Compressed air is used for stationary operation in the exhibition hall.
- 1933–1934: The Pennsylvania Railroad borrows the John Bull to show it at the Century of Progress International Exhibition in Chicago.
- 1939: The original John Bull is shown at the New York World's Fair for the last 39 years outside the Smithsonian.
- 1940: A replica of the John Bull , built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania , is shown at the New York World's Fair , while the original returns to the Smithsonian.
- September 15, 1981: The John Bull is put back into service for its 150th anniversary. It will be the oldest operational steam locomotive in the world.
- 1985: The John Bull is transported by airplane to Dallas for an exhibition . It is now also the oldest locomotive in the world that was transported by plane.
See also: LDE - Saxonia with very similar construction
literature
- John H. White, Jr .: The John Bull - 150 Years a Locomotive . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1981, ISBN 0-87474-961-1 .
Web links
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
- National Museum of American History
- Smithsonian Institution HistoryWired: a few of our favorite things - John Bull Locomotive
- Smithsonian Encyclopedia - John Bull
