The Best Friend of Charleston is an early American steam locomotive built in 1830 for the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, generally credited as the first steam locomotive built in the United States to be placed into regular commercial passenger service, hauling trains out of Charleston, South Carolina beginning that December. Built with a small vertical boiler and a compact wheel arrangement suited to the light, hastily laid early American track of the period, it operated successfully for several months until a boiler explosion, caused when a fireman reportedly tied down its safety valve to stop the noise of escaping steam, destroyed the locomotive in 1831 and killed the fireman, one of the first fatal boiler accidents in American railroading. A working replica was later built and operated to mark the original locomotive's historical significance.
Facts
SignificanceWidely considered the first locomotive built entirely within the United States for revenue service. 1 Manufacturer or Builder In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Sources
1. Best Friend of Charleston (Wikipedia)
Infobox, Type and origin
Builder: West Point Foundry
Infobox, History
Delivered: October 1830
Opening paragraph
widely considered the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States for revenue service
In Group: Early American Steam Locomotives, Lead sentence
The Best Friend of Charleston was a steam-powered railroad locomotive widely considered the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States for revenue service.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.