Pioneer is the name of the first railroad locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

 to operate in Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1837 by Baldwin Locomotive Works

Baldwin Locomotive Works

The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...

 for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad (U&S) in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, then purchased used by William B. Ogden for the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad

The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was a railroad running west from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa and Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois...

 (G&CU, the oldest predecessor of Chicago and North Western Railway

Chicago and North Western Railway

The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...

). The locomotive arrived in Chicago by schooner on October 10, 1848, and it pulled the first train westbound out of the city on October 25, 1848.

History

When the locomotive was built in 1837, and the Utica and Schenectady Railroad gave it the name Alert. It worked on the U&S for nine years before it was sold to the Michigan Central Railroad

Michigan Central Railroad

The Michigan Central Railroad was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada...

. Michigan Central added a cab and tender to the locomotive and used it for two years before selling it again in 1848 to the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. The G&CU renamed the locomotive Pioneer and used it in the construction of the G&CU until 1850, at which time the locomotive was loaned to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...

 for work in and around Chicago.
The locomotive has been preserved and is on display at the Chicago History Museum. The tender that was used behind the locomotive is located in Villa Park, Illinois

Villa Park, Illinois

Villa Park is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 22,075 at the 2000 census. A special census in 2003 set the population at 22,517...

.