The importation of the locomotive "John Bull" was destined to have a
far-reaching influence in moulding the types of early American
locomotives.
After the demonstration of November 12, 1831, the engine was taken
from the track and stored in a shed constructed to protect it until
such time as the track should be completed.
It was about this time that the proprietor of Peale's Museum, in
Philadelphia, applied to Matthias Baldwin, an ingenious mathematical
instrument maker, for a small locomotive to run upon a circular track
on the floor of the museum. Mr. Baldwin had heard of this locomotive.
He came to Bordentown and applied to Isaac Dripps for permission to
inspect it. Mr. Dripps tells me he remembers very well the day that he
explained to Mr. Baldwin the construction of the various working
parts.
Mr. Baldwin built a toy engine for Mr. Peale, which was so successful,
that in 1832 he was called upon by the Philadelphia and Germantown
Railroad Company to construct the old "Ironsides,"[7] which was
similar in many ways to the "John Bull," as an examination of the
model preserved in the National Museum will show. The success of this
engine laid the foundation for the great Baldwin Locomotive Works,
which is in existence to-day, sending locomotives to every part of the
globe.
[Footnote 7: A handsome model of the "Ironsides" was presented to
the United States National Museum by the Baldwin Locomotive
Company in 1888.]