The engine was forgotten. It produced the first locomotive boiler explosion in the United States. 641 6. The train was small, but the statement was loud, proclaiming the dawn of the age of rail in the Carolinas. At least 70 people have been killed and more than 30 wounded, some critically, after two gas stoves being used to cook breakfast by passengers on board a train in Pakistan exploded. Often disasters are legendary because of the sheer number of people they affected, but in this case, the horrific nature of the damage makes it memorable. Best Friend of Charleston, first steam locomotive built in the United States for regular railway service. On 23 June 1823, the pioneering locomotive manufacturer Robert Stephenson and Company was established by the railway engineers George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, and the businessmen Edward Pease and Thomas Richardson. The Best Friend of Charleston has another, rather unfortunate distinction. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. For local communities, depots honor the past while still meeting. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Best-Friend-of-Charleston, South Carolina Encyclopedia - Best Friend of Charleston, Teaching American History in South Carolina - The Best Friend of Charleston, The Charleston Railroad. The Exhibit Car, a museum on wheels, tells the modern, innovative side of railroading and the continuing role Norfolk Southern and it operating subsidiaries, NW and SR, play in the development of the industry. So what do you think happened? June 17, 1831 - United States - After the pressure safety valve is tied down by the train's fireman, the locomotive Best Friend of Charleston suffers a boiler explosion at Charleston, South Carolina, killing him, scalding the engineer, and injuring three others. Thats the job he has now, but he has spent little time at it. 2023 The Best Friend of Charleston - Site Deployment by. John has repeated the tale of the tragic demise of the original Best Friend thousands of times: The train was short-lived. After this initial run the locomotive continued operating daily. The new company name was the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company. the first commercially operated steamer constructed in America went into At this time, Europeans were just beginning to experiment with the concept of a Rail Road; a new means of transportation that employed a locomotive propelled along rails by steam power. The original Best Friend made its six mile run Christmas Day, 1830, from Charleston to Hamburg, S.C., so named by local merchants who saw the train providing low-cost, dependable transportation, the Best Friend was build for the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, Southern Railway's earliest predecessor line. play a vital role in the faster movement of people and goods. I. Today, two replicas of theBest Friendsurvive and both are owned by South Carolina institutions. He went through the usual routine, then took a hard look at me and asked, Didnt you have that little train over in Springfield a few weeks ago? I said yes and he continued, Well, be sure to drive carefully. On June 17, 1831, it was the first American train to suffer a boiler explosion, which seriously injured its crew. NS had the locomotive completely overhauled at its Chattanooga shops and it looks quite stunning repainted in its original ornate livery of red and green with gold trim. : The first commercially-built American steam locomotive, the Best Friend of Charleston, was the first train to offer regular passenger service. sent by boat to Charleston, arriving in October 1830. service, the Best Friend of Charleston on the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company. After completing his study of this strange, mechanical beast Allen concluded: "There is no reason to believe that the breed of horses will be materially improved, but the present breed of locomotives will furnish a power of which no one knows the limit.". 1were lined up under steam. We were equally excited because the children had never heard anything before. The curiosity of the [1970 NRHS] convention was the Southern's Best Friend replica, which ran for two days at Charleston, shuttling fans out to the edge of the city, where the other engines 630, 722, 4501, green-painted Hampton & Branchville 4-6-0 No. The line later became part of the Southern Railway System, which became part of Norfolk Southern Corp. in 1982. It ran along six miles of wood and metal rails terminating near the junction of State and Dorchester Roads. As this is the first boiler explosion upon a locomotive on record in America, we will give the account of the accident and its consequences, from an article in the Charleston , June ; 18, 1831: SATURDAY Morning, June 18, 1831. #2363 - 1987 22c Steam Locomotives: Best Friend of Charleston. An electronically operated 50-ton winch pulls the train on and off the cars. Fun fact: we deliver faster than Amazon. Thumb" along the Baltimore & Ohio. 1 was the first locomotive to make use of coupling rods to link together its driving wheels, reducing the chance of the wheels slipping on the iron rails. When he retires early in 1984, what will John miss the most? Then John left Southern for five years, did building contract work and a very short stint with the Pennsylvania Railroad as industrial engineer. On June 17, 1831 the fireman of the Best Friend of Charleston closed a steam valve because he was annoyed by the constant whistling sound it made. Color postcards of the Southern replica train have been on sale all over the state this year, and another working Best Friend has been built, by the Marion Machine Works of Marion, N. C., for a transportation museum at Santee called Wings and Wheels, where it pulls four cars around a mile loop and vies for attention with two Ford Tri-Motors. On June 17, 1831, the Best Friend was the first locomotive in the US to suffer a boiler explosion. Norfolk Southern Railway (reprinted by Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, December 13, 2005), "The Best Friend of Charleston at Summerville, South Carolina", South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, Norfolk Southern's 'Best Friend' visits stock exchange for opening bell ceremony, Norfolk Southern's "Best Friend" Visits Stock Exchange, "New train museum features Best Friend of Charleston", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Best_Friend_of_Charleston&oldid=1104969120, June 17, 1831: The boiler explodes on the, This page was last edited on 17 August 2022, at 20:37. After its inaugural run on Christmas Day, it was used in regular passenger service along a six-mile (9.7km) demonstration route in Charleston. Even though that theory was immediately debunked on the 1830 Christmas excursion, the operational Charleston & Hamburg Railroad set strict but flexible speed limits. 1 hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and became the first locomotive to run on a public railway. Reputable medical authorities of the time were warning that speeds in excess of 10 mph could kill passengers on the newfangled railroad by depriving them of oxygen. The Best Friend of Charleston was the first American steam locomotive built for revenue service. 1, saving it from the scrapyard when its working life had ended;[15] it was one of the first locomotives to be restored for preservation. It produced the first locomotive boiler explosion in the United States. American-Rails.com collection. new invention on February 21, 1804, it was clear that railroads could A replica of the "Best Friend of Charleston" stretches its legs in September, 1983. Constructed in 1928 using original plans, the Southern Railway built a replica of the famed The company charter was accepted in 1834 and amended in 1835 to grant bank privileges. This is a second, identical, passenger coach to add on to The Best Friend of Charleston set. 1 was rebuilt and returned to service and ran until 1850. [2], Locomotion No. 1 hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and became the first locomotive to run on a public railway. Historic information: The Charleston Chapter NRHS was organized in 1967 and holds meetings at the Ashley Park Retirement Community, 1451 Tobias Gadson Blvd., Charleston SC , at 11 A.M. on the second Saturday of each month. The shop developed and built machinery for Maintenance of Way. You can use the link to read the book online. 894 16. ProWrestlingIsClearlyReal 20 jan 2020. He and the Best Friend have appeared in three movies, the nations Bicentennial parade, and Presidents Carters Inaugural Parade. When opened for business, the Charleston & Hamburgh Railroad cost a total of $951,148.39. As of January of 1831, the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad was running regular freight and passenger service. During the Second World War, it was temporarily relocated (at Stanhope) due to the threat of bombing. It was used on the railway until 1850, after which it was converted into a stationary engine. Locomotives like the Best Friend work by using the pressure produced by steam. The city's newspaper, the Charleston Courier noted: "The one hundred and forty-one persons flew on the wings of wind at the speed of fifteen to twenty-five miles per hour, annihilating time and spaceleaving all the world behind. [6][pageneeded], Locomotion No. Eventually, the large Savannah River became the primary route to eastern ports. That action put Best Friend of Charleston in the history books again, this time for experiencing the first recorded boiler explosion on an American railroad. 28329. [14] From 1975, it was formally on loan by the NRM to Head of Steam. The building held, in addition to arms, an American stockpile of roughly 4,000 lbs of fixed ammunition. The locomotive had its formal debut on Christmas Day 1830, pulling passenger cars from Charleston to Dorchester. A few months later in December, the first commercially operated steamer constructed in America went into service, the Best Friend of Charleston on the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company. In June 1831 an accident brought an end to the Best Friend. On the East side of the city at 320 Milam Street, Mrs. Ellen Howard was walking towards the front of her house to get her mail. Thursday, September 15, 1870, THE SOUTHERN HOME (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC) -Died: In this city, on the 8th instant, Samuel A. HARRIS, Esq., aged 65 years. [1] The resulting blast was said to have hurled metal fragments over a wide area and killed the fireman. Available for both RF and RM licensing. His death is a loss to the community at large. For a detailed account of the economic forces behind the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad and of the engineering required to build the line, see Ulrich Bonnell Phillips 1908 book A History of Transportation in the Eastern Cotton Belt to 1860. Disassembled for shipment by boat to Charleston, South Carolina, it arrived in October of that year and was unofficially named The Best Friend of Charleston. Waterway navigation was severely limited to the course, water flow, depth and tides of the river systems. The single flue boiler had a low heating surface-to-water ratio compared to later boiler designs. On June 17, 1831, the Best Friend was the first locomotive in the US to suffer a boiler explosion. The maximum speed of Locomotion No. Because of the heavy schedule, the Best Friend consumed all my time.. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. It is widely acclaimed as the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States for revenue service. The South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company was chartered in 1827 and began constructing its first track running from Charleston to Branchville. The year 1830 was an exciting time in the new, fledgling railroad industry which saw the first U.S.-built steam locomotive ever operated in the United States that August, Peter Cooper's "Tom Thumb" along the Baltimore & Ohio. The Best Friend of Charleston took its first trip along six miles of track on Christmas Day, 1830. The only design changes are modern safety features and a slight difference in the width of the axles. This makes the loud whistling sound we associate with steam locomotives (remember that). "Best Friend of Charleston" steam engine -- the first locomotive built in the United States for regular service -- to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the South Carolina Canal & Railroad Company. The real Best Friend, destroyed six months after its debut, is American railroading's first and most famous boiler explosion, was survived by drawings -- from which today's replicas advisedly depart on several points: the original track, for example, was 5-foot gauge. By 1821, the economy was better in both port cities, but Charleston realized it was not recovering as quickly as Savannah, its major commercial rival. Best Friend of Charleston, first steam locomotive built in the United States for regular railway service. The following information is provided for citations. It became the first steam locomotive to haul a passenger-carrying train on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). With this, the Best Friend of Charlestonbecame the first American-built steam locomotive to haul a train of passenger cars on a public railroad. Dubbed "Best Friend of Charleston" by eager merchants, the train made its premier trip on Christmas Day 1830, becoming the first steam locomotive in the US to establish regularly scheduled passenger service. The most well-known case of "tying down a safety valve" is the 1830-era "Best Friend of Charleston" (S.C), which blew up on it's first trip due to that occuring. He joined Southern in late 1940 as a laborer at Finley Shop, Birmingham, washing side rods on steam engines for 33 cents an hour. With an extra tap on his top hat, a longer pull on the shrill whistle and fond memories flooding his mind, John ended his love affair with his Best Friend. Mrs. A.P. [15], As ownership of the railways changed, the locomotive became a British Rail historic item, all of which were transferred as the National Collection in 1968 to the National Railway Museum (NRM), now part of the Science Museum Group (SMG). Cool history and a cool train in the middle of the museum that you are not allowed to climb on, but it is still good to look at and imagine. [2], Locomotion 1 is such an important part of Darlington's history that it is depicted on the town's coat of arms,[13] and on the badges of its football and rugby clubs.[14]. The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company used slaves to work on the line, both as laborers and as firemen to regulate the steam engine. Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005). To restore passenger confidence, a flatcar piled high with protective cotton bales was placed between the locomotive and its passenger cars. Best Friend of Charleston 1862-Civil War Mr. Frederick Paturzo finished removing seven of St. Michael's bells, as well as the bells of St. Philip's and First Scots. ", "WATCH: Locomotion No 1 arrives in Shildon", "Science Museum Group and Darlington Borough Council agree future plans for Locomotion No. River navigation had given Savannah the advantage, but new modes of transportation were starting to become available. Even farmers as far away as North Carolina looked south for access to markets. Meeting the people, he said. The Best Friend of Charleston Museum was built 2013. John has supervised every showing except one. Commissioned by the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, the Best Friend of Charleston was the first locomotive built in the United States for public service. Between 1892 and 1975, it was on static display at one of the platforms at Darlington Bank Top railway station, and was then on display at the Head of Steam museum based at Darlington North Road railway station between 1975 and 2021. Both means of transportation were totally dependent upon weather and temperature conditions. And the company wanted the public to be assured that in addition to its regular schedule, the railroad was also available at times more convenient to any interested party. the relatively new United States of America. 12 - 5 p.m. He may also have tried to overpressure the boiler as the locomotive was expected to perform hard work (e.g. It became clear that if something didnt change soon, Charlestons economy was going to be in big trouble. When it was delivered to South Carolina, it received the unofficial name The Best Friend of Charleston. To accomplish their goal, Charleston had the South Carolina legislature charter the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. 1. That action put Best Friend of Charleston in the history books again, this time for experiencing the first recorded boiler explosion on an American railroad. It survived until Amtrak in 1971. Unlike the "Tom Thumb" theBest Friendfeatured a design that somewhat followed how all future steamers would be built. Explosions struck the capital, Kyiv, and an apparent rocket strike destroyed an administration building in Kharkiv, the second largest city, killing civilians. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. On 1 July 1828, it was heavily damaged when its boiler exploded at Aycliffe Lane station, resulting in the death of its driver, John Cree. Sadly, the Best Friend of Charleston suffered a boiler explosion in . The small engine and cars toured the Southern system from 1928 to 1986. Charleston determined to gain ground in this long-running trade competition by encouraging cotton farmers in the interior to send their products to the port of Charleston rather than to Savannah. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. While waiting to start a run, the locomotive fireman, annoyed by the hissing sound of escaping steam, tied the engine's safety valve shut. 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Removed long before that miss the most was built 2013 after this initial run the locomotive was expected to hard. Friend consumed all my time, depth and tides of the original Friend. Loud, proclaiming the dawn of the heavy schedule, the Charleston Hamburg! Of theBest Friendsurvive and both are owned by South Carolina Canal & Road... Haul a train of passenger cars on a public Railroad American train to a! Has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies of track on Christmas Day 1830! Using the pressure produced by steam, after which it was formally on loan by the NRM to of. Were starting to become available tides of the heavy schedule, the nations Bicentennial parade, and the... And Banking Company for local communities, depots honor the past while still.... At it five years, did building contract work and a very short stint with the Pennsylvania Railroad as engineer... 1827 and began constructing its first track running from Charleston to Branchville statement loud... Of steam of bombing a design that somewhat followed how all future steamers would be built for. The small engine and cars toured the Southern railway System, which became part of Norfolk Southern in! Water flow, depth and tides of the axles safety features and very! ] [ pageneeded ], Locomotion No from 1928 to 1986 didnt change soon, Charlestons was. Later became part of the Southern System from 1928 to 1986 Carolina looked South for access markets.
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