The John Bull set a record as the oldest operable locomotive in 1981 but it hasn’t run since. Therefore can it still be considered operable? Wouldn’t it have to pass a 1472-day inspection before it could run again? I would think a design that old would probably never meet modern FRA standards. What do you guys think?
They could probably get a special waiver from the FRA to run it on a very limited basis at some type of special exhibition, but there’s no way it could pull main line duty. The last time it ran, I believe it was trucked to and from the location.
Well, the “John Bull” was certainly operable in 1981 and we can assume it was put away in the same condition. As long as it’s running as an exhibit and not hauling paying passengers a waiver shouldn’t be a problem. Possibly the Smithsonian thinks at this point it’s just too old and valuable to risk, or they consider it too much of a hassle to get it out of the museum and bring it to a place it can be run. There could be budget considerations too.
I remember reading in “Smithsonian” magazine in '81 about the resurrection of the “Bull”. The first thing they did was (after hours, of course) hook up an air compressor to the engine just to see if everything still still worked. It sure did, and a large cloud of soot and dust exploded out of the smokestack! The drivers turned as merrily as they ever did. This experiment prompted a letter to “Smithsonian” magazine that was published in the following issue:
“I just KNEW you guys played with the stuff you’ve got when nobody’s looking!”