This Eagle is not the real Eagle. The original locomotive was scrapped in 1857. This replica was built in 1938 by the Central Workshop Zwolle for NS, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the railways in the Netherlands.

The real Eagle, built in England, runs the first official train ride in the Netherlands on September 20, 1839: between Amsterdam and Haarlem. In case the locomotive breaks down, locomotive De Speed also runs along. The chief engineer, Englishman John Middlemiss, is secretive about his job. For example, when servicing the locomotive, he hangs a sheet so that no one can see what he is doing.

De Eagle runs on a wider track than we are used to now. The Netherlands initially opts for a track gauge of 1,945 millimetres. That would be safer. Later they switched to standard gauge with a width of 1,435 mm, just like the tracks in the surrounding countries.