The Best Friend of Charleston

The Best Friend of Charleston (HMQSG)

Location: Charleston, SC 29403 Charleston County
Buy South Carolina State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 32° 47.334', W 79° 56.236'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 584 views
Inscription
Horatio Allen was the chief engineer for the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company. He convinced the owners to use steam instead of horses to power their first locomotive, noting, "there was no reason to believe that the breed of horses would be materially improved, but that the present breed of locomotives was to furnish a power of which no one knew its limit." The first commercially-built American steam locomotive, the Best Friend of Charleston, was the first train to offer regular passenger service. She made her first six-mile trip on December 25, 1830. Sadly, disaster struck in June, 1831, when her boiler exploded.

The Best Friend was built at the West Point Foundry in New York. She traveled to Charleston aboard the ship Niagara and was delievered to the machine shops of Dotterer & Eason. Nicholas Darrell, the first engineer of the Best Friend was repaired and renamed The Phoenix. Nicholas Darrell continued to work for SCC&RR as engineer of the West Point and later as engineer of the South Carolina, the first eight wheeled engine designed by Horatio Allen.

In 1928, a replica of the Best Friend was built from the original blueprints to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the SCC&RR. The Best Friend was donated to the City of Charleston by Norfolk Southern in 1993.

"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 space ... leaving all the world behind."
* Charleston Courier December 29, 1850 *
Details
HM NumberHMQSG
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 18th, 2014 at 4:38am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 599514 N 3628384
Decimal Degrees32.78890000, -79.93726667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 32° 47.334', W 79° 56.236'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds32° 47' 20.04" N, 79° 56' 14.16" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)843
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 36 John St, Charleston SC 29403, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  10. This marker needs at least one picture.
  11. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  12. Is the marker in the median?