The Great Locomotive Switch

Smithsonian Moves Three Historic Locomotives

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In a museum version of musical chairs -- except that the "chairs" are historic steam locomotives weighing up to 25 tons each -- the Smithsonian Institution has relocated three of its most important artifacts from the history of American transportation.

The Olomana

The three coordinated moves occurred in January and February, 1999. The locomotive Pioneer of 1851 went to Bethlehem, Pa., on long-term loan to the National Museum of Industrial History, an independent museum affiliated with the Smithsonian. The Olomana of 1883 went to the Smithsonian's Arts & Industries (A&I) Building for a new exhibit on Americans of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii. And the Jupiter of 1876 went to the National Museum of American History (NMAH) for exhibit in the Railroad Hall, later to become a key artifact in the exhibition America On The Move.

The locomotive relocations were handled with extraordinary care, due to the extreme weight and historic character of the artifacts. A Smithsonian rigging crew, responsible for lifting and moving heavy objects, and two contracted rigging firms were involved. Morris Kreitz & Sons, Inc., of Wyomissing, Pa., took the 11-ton Pioneer to Bethlehem, Pa. The Smithsonian's own riggers handled the nine-ton Olomana from NMAH to A&I. And Hutchinson International Corp./United Rigging of Beltsville, Md. transported Jupiter -- its tender weighing 4-1/2 tons and the engine proper, 20-1/2 tons -- to NMAH.

Jupiter on display at Arts & Industries

Joint planning by Smithsonian staff and rigging contractors began two months beforehand. Each step of each move required careful consideration: museum floor-loadings, locomotive weights and safe lifting points, and capacities of lifting equipment all had to be assessed. In Jupiter's case, Smithsonian staff needed to do substantial disassembly.

A note on nomenclature: Pioneer, Olomana, and Jupiter (with its tender) are not "trains." Each is a locomotive, or an engine. In use, each pulled trains of railroad cars. Pioneer originally pulled passenger trains; Jupiter, both passenger and freight trains. Pioneer ran on a railroad in Pennsylvania; Jupiter ran on a line in California. Olomana hauled railcars laden with cut sugar cane from fields to a sugar mill on the island of Oahu. Explore the links at the top of this page to find out more about their history.

The three priceless steam engines were for many years popular fixtures at NMAH and at A&I, facilities of the Smithsonian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Pioneer, an example of early locomotive design, and the Olomana, originally used to haul sugar cane on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, were displayed in the Railroad Hall at NMAH since 1964 and 1977, respectively. The Jupiter was a celebrated icon in the East Hall of A&I for 24 years, where it was installed as part of "1876," an exhibition about the United States Centennial. Information on the fascinating history of these locomotives is available by clicking the links on the left side of this page.

Jupiter's relocation is the first tangible step in a major exhibition redesign and reinstallation project underway at NMAH. In a little over four years after Jupiter's move, the present Railroad and Road Transportation Halls were replaced by a major exhibition America On The Move. The two former halls are to be unified into a new interpretive experience for visitors that puts the history of American travel and commerce into context. America On The Move, in turn, is the first step in The Making of Modern America, NMAH's planned reinstallation of the history of technology exhibits in the east end of the museum's first floor.