John Bull is a historic British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States.

[6][7] On November 12, 1831, Robert Stevens (then president of the C&A) repaid some political debts by inviting several members of the New Jersey legislature and some local dignitaries, including Napoleon's nephew Prince Murat, for rides behind the newly delivered locomotive over a short test track.

The prince's wife, Catherine Willis Gray, made a point of hurrying onto the train so she could be declared the first woman to ride a steam-powered train in America, though unknown to her, men and women had already ridden behind the steam powered maiden runs on the Baltimore and Ohio, South Carolina Railroad, and the Mohawk and Hudson by this point in 1831.

[3][6][8][9] Until the railroad was completed, the locomotive was placed in storage; horse-drawn cars served the construction efforts until 1833.

[12] The cowcatcher is an angled assembly designed to deflect animals and debris off of the railroad track in front of the locomotive.

After several years serving as a switching engine and stationary boiler,[13] the John Bull was retired in 1866 and stored in Bordentown, New Jersey.

In the Smithsonian Institution, the railroad was able to find a home for the historic locomotive, as well as a suitable new employer for a young civil engineer named J. Elfreth Watkins.

The PRR employed his engineering experience as an expert curator for the Smithsonian's new Arts and Industries Building, which was opened in 1880.

[18][19] The locomotive's first public exhibition at the Smithsonian occurred on December 22, 1884, where it was displayed in the East Hall of the Arts and Industries building.

Ely was confident enough in its 50-mile (80.5 km) test run to Perth Amboy, New Jersey (which took two hours and fifteen minutes), that the governors of all the states that the locomotive was to pass through and the then President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, were invited to ride behind the engine on its first leg toward Chicago.

The John Bull was to pull a few passenger cars in a train that would carry dignitaries and representatives of the press.

This replica tender integrated some of the fittings of the original that the museum had retained when it had been dismantled twenty years earlier.

The museum borrowed an 1836 coach from the Pennsylvania Railroad to display on the track behind the newly rebuilt tender, and the locomotive's 100th birthday was officially celebrated on November 12, 1931.

As 1981 and the locomotive's 150th birthday approached, the Smithsonian started discussions on how best to commemorate the John Bull's age and significance.

No significant amount of deterioration was noted in these early inspections, and when the wheels were jacked off the rails, as they had been 50 years earlier, the axles were found to be freely operable.

After the compressed air blew some dirt and debris out of the locomotive's exhaust stack, it was soon running smoothly.

[27] The items that needed repair were serviced, and on October 14, 1980, the locomotive was successfully field-tested on the Warrenton Branch Line in Fauquier County between Calverton and Casanova, Virginia.