To better understand the T cell‐mediated processes involved in the immune response to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) infection, two HSV‐specific T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mouse lines were produced. These mice (gBT‐I.1 and gBT‐I.3) are MHC class I‐restricted and specific for the immunodominant peptide from HSV glycoprotein B (gB), gB_498–505. Although derived from the same clone, the mice differ in the chromosomal location of the TCR transgenes and show marked differences in TCR α/β expression on both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells in the thymus. Despite this, peripheral CD8⁺ T cells from both mice express equally high levels of the transgenic TCR and bind the K^bgB_498–505 tetramer to the same degree. In concordance with this, both were shown to respond equally well in vitro upon stimulation with the gB_498–505 peptide or HSV‐infected cells. These data show that selection of broadly equivalent peripheral T‐cell subsets can occur in the presence of distinctly different thymic T‐cell subsets.