Among the various fairs at which it has been exhibited are those held at New York in 1939 and 1940 and in Chicago in 1948 and 1949. At present it is to be seen in the depot of the Chattanooga Station Co. at Chattanooga, Tenn.
A small, nonoperable model of the Best Friend, about 2 feet long ([figure 22]), with tender and two cars, was made in the late 1880’s by D. Ballauf, well known model maker of Washington, D. C. It was first exhibited at the Cincinnati Centennial Exposition in 1888, after which it was placed on exhibition in the National Museum (USNM 180244).
Of the West Point, the second locomotive built by the West Point Foundry Association, and the second bought by the South-Carolina Canal and Rail-Road Co., no relics or replicas are known to exist. A satisfactory locomotive, it arrived at Charleston on the ship Lafayette on February 28, 1831. Its final disposition is no longer known.
Figure 22.—Model of Best Friend of Charleston, in National Museum.
Figure 23.—Early drawing of De Witt Clinton, built in 1831.
The third locomotive ([figure 23]) built by the West Point Foundry Association, the De Wilt Clinton of the Mohawk and Hudson Rail Road Co., was the first to run in New York State. Its first public demonstration was an excursion trip on August 9, 1831, on a 12-mile stretch of railway between Albany and Schenectady. The distance was covered in less than one hour. Another notable demonstration, attended by many public officials, took place on September 24 of the same year.
The locomotive, which had been shipped up the Hudson River to Albany during the last week of June with David Matthew in charge, weighed a little over 6,750 pounds, was 11½ feet long, and was mounted on four 54-inch wheels, all of which were drivers. The two cylinders, at the rear of the locomotive and connected to the axle of the front wheels, had a bore of 5½ inches and a stroke of 16 inches. The boiler was tubular, with copper tubes about 2½ inches in diameter and 6 feet long. The top speed when pulling a load of about 8 tons was said to have been about 30 miles an hour.
