I was recently reading old newspapers about the 1876 Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. In terms of its railroad features, it was nothing like the 1893 Chicago or San Francisco fairs, but it was served by the PRR. It made me wonder if any rolling stock known to have gone to, or served the Exposition still exists. Any one know of any? I'm just not familiar enough with surviving PRR equipment to know what there is from 1876 or earlier. Thanks.

I am going to make stab at this from a uneducated standpoint and say no. So very little rolling stock or motive power survive from this time. You can almost count the surviving locomotives from that time on your hands and toes. I want to learn more, but sadly my gut says no. Rolling stock talking maybe, but I have no idea where to start to find out.

The narrow gauge Mason bogie locomotive and passenger cars displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition was sold at the end of the exhibition to the New York & Manhattan Beach Railway in Brooklyn, NY. The NY&MB was acquired by the LIRR and converted to standard gauge by 1885, and I'm quite sure that none of this equipment survives.

-Philip Marshall

The Centennial Exposition was located in Fairmount Park, just North of PRR's Zoo Junction complex, near where West Philadelphia enginehouse was in later years. PRR had a large station with a loop. P&R also had a station (actually on the Junction RR) and both roads used existing equipment. B&O had not yet built to Philadelphia in 1876.

PRR displayed the original John Bull locomotive (now at the Smithsonian).

In 1976 the Smithsonian had a display in the Arts and Industries building that included 1876 Baldwin 3 foot gauge 4-4-0 "Jupiter" that had been built for the Santa Cruz RR in California. The Free Library of Philadelphia has a photo of the Baldwin exhibit including 4-4-0 No. 1154 but this engine does not resemble the Santa Cruz engine as it currently exists. There are two other locomotives in the photo but they are not identified.

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/1260

The exposition had a steam-powered narrow-gauge intramural railroad. Also, one of the exhibits was a monorail. There is no evidence any of that still exists.

The exposition took place before electric or cable streetcars had been developed, so street transportation was horsecar or omnibus.

SEPTA's Strafford Station (Paoli/Thorndale Line, ex-PRR) was the Japanese and later the Illinois Pavilion at the 1876 Expo. If you want to look inside, the Ticket Office is open 5.30 AM to 11.45 AM Weekdays.

Phil Mulligan

The Smithsonian website lists what looks to be maybe an 0-4-4T model from the exhibition as still in their collection. Nothing on full size equipment.

Thanks for the very informed answers.

I understand that V&T coach No. 17, at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, carried John Mackay and his family from Oakland, California to the 1876 Centennial when it was still configured as a private car. Mackay was one of the "Bonanza Kings" of the Comstock.

An 0-4-4T model? Like someone built a model for a display stand or something?

The former Reading station at Danville, Pa. is rumored to have been one of the stations on the narrow gauge line encircling the 1876 exhibition grounds. Also, I believe a couple of other stations, in addition to Strafford, west of Philadelphia were originally exhibit pavilions.

The Centennial Exposition is considered the event which triggered the B&O Railroad's collecting of locomotives over the years, most of which are now at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. B&O #600 (aka the J.C.Davis), brand new the time was there along with the B&O's "oldest locomotive still in existence". #600 is on display at the Museum, recently cosmetically restored.

'Locomotion' built by Robt. Stephenson & Co in 1825 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England was exhibited by the North Eastern Railway in Philadelphia in 1876 and in Chicago in 1883.
Today she can be found in Darlington Railway Museum, and a working replica (made in 1975) can be found near by at North of England Open Air Museum in Beamish.