STRASBURG, Pa. — The Rocket, the 185-year-old former Reading Co. steam engine which had long been displayed at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, made its debut Friday at its new home, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. About 60 people were on hand for a ribbon-cutting of the new display, a ceremony featuring Patrick Morrison, the museum’s executive director; Eric Levin, the Conrail Shared Assets Organization vice president who arranged for Conrail to donate the engine to the museum; and museum staff, Friends of the Railroad Museum volunteers, and local elected officials.
The Strasburg museum had long sought to acquire the 0-2-2-0, built in 1838, which had been at the Franklin Institute for 90 years. That facility is undergoing a multimillion-dollar makeover; the space that had previously been devoted to the Rocket will allow display of other items from the Institute’s thousands of artifacts [see “185-year-old ‘Rocket’ moving …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 15, 2023].
How fast did its train go? Some people at the time predicted dire effects on the human body if speeds exceeded about 15 mph. Happily proved untrue.
P&R was built to move coal from the lower anthracite field to Philadelphia. Given the rails and bearings of the day and the competition: horse and waggon, or canal boat with mules, I’d say 15 mph was plenty.
Rocket (1838) is very similar to John Bull (1831) which is at the Smithsonian but RRMPA has a replica built by PRR in 1939 using the original John Bull as a template.
Rocket was obsolete when it was built and shipped across the Atlantic, but P&R was built with British capital so they bought a British locomotive.
The “Rocket” looks solid as a rock, which is great for the 185-year-old rail legend.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün