Figure 2 1 . — Full sized operable replica of Best Friend of Charleston, built in 1 928 

 by Southern Railway System. 



The wheel at Newport is built up of parts, and consists of 

 a large round hub, 12 round 1 V4-inch-diameter spokes, a rim 

 approximately 46 inches in diameter and 4V2 inches wide, 

 and a flanged tire 4% inches wide and about 1 inch thick, 

 the flange of which is 2 inches wide on its outside face. The 

 wheel, therefore, has a diameter of about 48 inches. The 

 spokes are staggered in the hub and appear to be fastened to 

 it by threaded nuts. Four keyways are cut into the hole in 

 the hub. The complete history and exact origin of this wheel, 

 given to the Redwood Library in January 1863 by Isaac P. 

 Hazard of Newport, will probably remain a mystery. 



As with other early locomotives, a full sized operable 

 replica of the Best Friend has been built. The Southern Rail- 

 way System, which now includes the old South-Carolina 

 Canal and Rail-Road, in 1928 constructed a faithful replica 

 of the locomotive at its Birmingham, Ala., shops, and in the 

 same year reproduced the original tender and several cars 

 at its shops at Hayne, S. C. (figure 21). A new boiler was 

 installed on the replica in 1948. 



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