Steam & Excursion > Does Anyone remember the Casey Jones Accident????

On the last day of April [1928] occurs the 28th anniversary of the death of Casey Jones, probably the most famous of a long line of locomotive engineer heroes who have died at their post of duty, one hand on the whistle and the other on the airbrake lever. Casey Jones' fame rests on a series of nondescript verses, which can hardly be called poetry. They were written by Wallace Saunders, a Negro engine wiper who had been a close friend of the famous engineer, and who sang them to a jigging melody all his own.

Mrs Casey Jones still lives in Jackson, Tenn. She has two sons and a daughter. Charles Jones, her younger son, lives in Jackson; Lloyd, the older son, is with a Memphis auto agency; and her daughter, Mrs. George McKenzie, lives in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Although 41 years have flitted by since Miss Janie Brady said "I do" and became the bride of John Luther (Casey) Jones, Mrs Jones still keeps green the memory of that glad occasion. Today, still on the sunny side of 60, the plump blond woman with her cheery smile tells graphically the story of how her husband was killed, and how Wallace Saunders composed the original air and words that later swept the country for years as the epic ballad of the railroader.

"My husband's real name was John Luther Jones," she told her latest interviewer. "He was a loveable lad - 6 feet 4 1/2 inches in height, darkhaired and gray-eyed. Always he was in good humor and his Irish heart was as big as his body. All the railroaders were fond of Casey, and his wiper, Wallace Saunders, just worshipped the ground he walked on."

The interviewer asked Mrs. Jones how her husband got the nickname Casey.

"Oh, I supposed everyone knew that!" she replied. "He got it from the town of Cayce, Kentucky, near which he was born. The name of the town is locally pronounced in two syllables, exactly like 'Casey'."

Mrs. Jones remembers Wallace Saunders very well, although she has not seen him for years.

"Wallace's admiration of Casey was little short of idolatry," she said. "He used to brag mightly about Mr. Jones even when Casey was only a freight engineer."

Casey Jones was known far and wide among railroad men, for his peculiar skill with a locomotive whistle.

"You see," said Mrs. Jones, "he astablished a sort of trade mark for himself by his inimitable method of blowing a whistle. It was a kind of long-drawn-out note that he created, beginning softly, then rising, then dying away almost to a whisper. People living along the Illinois Central right of way between Jackson and Water Valley would turn over in their beds late at night and say: 'There goes Casey Jones,' as he roared by."

After he had put in several years as freight and passenger engineer between Jackson and Water Valley, Casey was transfered early in 1900 to the Memphis-Canton (Miss.) run as throttle-puller of the Illinois Central's crack "Cannonball" train.

Casey and his fireman, Sim Webb, rolled into Memphis from Canton about 10 o'clock Sunday night, April 29. They went to the checking- in office and were prepared to go to their homes when Casey heard somebody call out: "Joe Lewis has just been taken with cramps and can't take his train out tonight."

"I'll double back and pull Lewis' old No. 638," Casey volunteered.

At 11 o'clock that rainy Sunday night Casey and Sim Webb clambered aboard the big engine and eased her out of the station and through the South Memphis yards.

Four o'clock of the 30th of April. The little town of Vaughn, Miss. A long winding curve just above the town, and a long sidetrack beginning about where the curve ended.

"There's a freight train on the siding," Casey yelled across to Sim Webb.

Knowing the siding there was a long one, and having passed many other freights on it, Casey figured he would do the same this night.

But there was two seperate sections of a very long train on the sidetrack this night. And the rear one was a little too long to get all its length off the main track onto the siding. The freight train crews figured on "sawing by"; that is as soon as the passenger train passed the front part of the first train, it would move forward and the rear freight would move up, thus clearing the main track.

But Casey's speed-about fifty miles an hour-was more than the freight crews bargained for.

But when old 638 was within a hundred feet of the end of the siding the horrified eyes of Casey Jones and Sim Webb beheld through the gloom the looming shape of several boxcars in motion, swinging across from the main line to the side-track. In a flash both knew there way no earthly way of preventing a smashup.

"Jump, Sim, and save yourself!," was Casey's last order to his fireman. As for himself, Casey through his engine in reverse and applied the air-brakes-all any engineer could do, and rode roaring 638 into a holocaust of crashing wood that splintered like match boxes. Sim Webb jumped, fell into some bushes and was not injured.

When they took Casey's body from the wreckage (old 638 had plowed through the cars and caboose and turned over on her side a short distance beyond) they found one hand on the whistle cord, the other on the air-brake lever.

"I remember," Sim Webb told Casey's widow, "that as I jumped Casey held down the whistle in a long, piercing scream. I think he must have had in mind to warn the freight conductor in the caboose so he could jump."

Probably no individual, excepting a member of Casey's family, was more affected by the sad news than Wallace Saunders.

A few days later he was going about singing a song to a melody all his own. The air had a lilt that caught the fancy of every one who heard it. But Wallace, honest old soul, had no idea of doing more than singing it as a sort of tribute to his white friend's memory.

But one day a song writer passed through Jackson and heard the song and the details of Casey's tragic death. He went off and changed the words, but retained the lilting refrain and the name Casey Jones. That was about 1902.Heres another version, In 1972 Gurner published his account of the accident based on Brotherhood lodge records, official I.C. Railroad records, interviews and his own years of experience as a fireman and engineer.

On the night of April 29, 1900, Casey and engine 382 with Sim Webb firing were listed out of Memphis on train #1 with six cars southbound for Canton. Conductor was J. C. Turner. The scheduled departure time was 11:15. Records indicate he left at 12:50; one hour and thirty-five minutes late.

A good engine, a good fireman, a light train and away late; the perfect setting for a record run. He made that record run too, if the oft quoted departure time of 12:50 is correct, for Casey went to Goodman on time for a meet with #2.

While Casey was rolling south, the stage was being set for his tragic wreck. Freights #72 and #83 were both in the passing track at
The only known authentic photograph of Casey in the cab of an engine. This is a detail from the photo of the 638.
Vaughan and there were more cars than the track would hold. It was necessary for these trains to move north or south to clear the main line switches in order to allow other trains to pass; this is known as a saw- by.

Meanwhile, northbound local passenger #26 arrived from Canton and had to be sawed in on the house track west of the main line. As #83 and #72 sawed back south to clear the north passing track switch, an air house broke on #72 and he couldn't move. Several cars of #83's train were still out on the main line above the north switch.

Engine 382 crashed through the caboose and several cars and came to rest on the right side pointing back north. Casey was fatally wounded in the throat. He was carried one-half mile to the depot were he died lying on a baggage wagon.

The railroad's formal investigation concluded that "Engineer Jones was solely responsible for the accident as consequence of not having properly responded to flag signals."Heres the long version, So Go take a pottie break, and si tback and relax, enjoy.Come all you rounders for I want you to hear
The story told of a brave engineer
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Casey's initial railroad experience was as cub operator on the M & O Railroad at Columbus, Kentucky. A few months later he transferred into more active railroading as a brakeman on the line between Columbus and Jackson, Tennessee. With his long range goal of becoming an engineer in mind, Casey made another transfer; this time becoming a fireman on the M & O line between Jackson, Tennessee and Mobile, Alabama.
Finally in March, 1888 he made his final move which was to change railroads. He moved this time to the lllinois Central as fireman on the Water Valley and Jackson (Tennessee) Districts with his seniority board at Water Valley, Mississippi. Opportunities for advancement looked good on the ICRR and Casey's seniority rights as fireman and later as engineer were on all road and yard jobs from Jackson, Tennessee to Canton, Mississippi. In addition, there were several blanket passenger runs from Memphis to Canton manned on alternate trips by Water Valley crews. Casey had seniority rights on these runs also.

Old records of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen's lodge, Water Lily 402, show Casey joining the Water Valley lodge on July 21, 1890. He was promoted to engineer on February 23, 1891 and his name first appears on the register book of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers lodge at Water Valley on March 10, 1891. This maintaining membership in both of the enginemen's labor organizations shows that he strongly supported the principles of collective bargaining advanced by the young rail labor movement. It also shows Casey's concern for his family's security, for one of the benefits of brotherhood membership was life insurance protection. Mrs. Jones collected from both groups when he died.

As was the lot of newly promoted engineers Casey worked in extra road and yard service until he could hold a regular engine. In those early steam days an engineer bid in assignments on engines operating on a specified district rather than on a particular run as in later years. He stayed with his engine wherever it went.

In the summer of 1893 the Chicago World's Fair was attracting huge crowds to the grounds along the lake on Chicago's south side. This was ICRR territory and the line was being taxed to provide transportation for the thousands coming to the fair. A call was sent over the system for engineers. Casey responded and spent the summer of 1893 in suburban service in Chicago. It was here that he became acquainted with No. 638. The Illinois Central had this big new freight engine on display at the fair. At the closing of the fair the 638 was due to be sent to Water Valley for service on the Jackson District. When this knowledge came to him, Casey asked for permission to run the engine back to Water Valley. His request was approved, and the No. 638 ran its first 589 miles with Casey Jones at the throttle all the way to Water Valley.

Casey was soon able to bid in the No. 638 during periods of heavy business as older engineers bid in engines on preferred runs. Casey liked the No. 638 and especially he liked working on the Jackson District because his family was in Jackson. They had once moved to Water Valley but Jackson was really home to the Jones family and when Casey got back to the Jackson District they moved back home.

So it was that Casey and the 638 spent more and more time together
J. W. McKinnie
until it the late 1890's he had seniority to hold this fine little engine altogether. His regular fireman on the No. 638 was a young friend, John Wesley McKinnie, and from about 1897 until Casey went to the passenger run out of Memphis these three were inseparable.

Over the years Casey had his share of extra passenger runs and he liked the work and the pay. Generally, passenger runs offered a much shorter working day, better pay and considerable prestige; all of which appealed to the young engineer. His first opportunity at a regular passenger job now came open to him.

In February 1900 W. W. "Bill" Hatfield transferred from Memphis back to a run out of Water Valley thus opening up trains No. 1 and No. 4 (some accounts say that Hatfield's run was No. 2 and No. 3. Sim Webb always said that they went to Memphis to take No. 1 and No. 4) to a younger engineer. It would mean moving his family to Memphis and it would also mean separation from McKinnie and No. 638 but Casey saw the move as a good one and bid the job

Now, after ten years as engineer, Casey had a regular "high wheel" job. Instead of dodging passenger trains by running in and out of sidings, as he had done in freight service, he was first class. The four big ones, passengers No. 1, No. 2. No. 3 and No. 4, bowed to each other (took siding) on the superiority of direction but for no other trains did they "go in the hole."

The new job went well. Casey was pleased with the 300 class passenger engines that were assigned to the run. He missed McKinnie but had a good young fireman, Sim Webb, who had been firing the job with Hatfield. Most pleasing was the fact that the job was a challenge to his ability as an engineer. The Illinois Central had been regularly shortening the running time of its passenger trains between Chicago and New Orleans so that an on time run was at a pretty good pace; a late run a real test of the engineer.

The time card schedule on trains No. 1 and No. 4 allowed about five hours time from Memphis' Poplar Street Station to Canton and about the same time back north. With his 300 and seven or eight cars this was a mighty light day's work. As the consist got heavier and the train later, the task became more demanding, but all the officials really demanded of an engineer was that he make running time. In other words, that he deliver the train to the next division no later on the schedule than he got it. Passenger comfort was not too important and damage suits, for being thrown about at high rates of speed, almost unheard of, so dispatchers and other officials looked the other way when too much time was made up. Casey did his best to give them their money's worth--most often more!

On the night of April 29, 1900, Casey was listed out of Memphis for the No. 382; fireman Sim Webb on train No. 1 with conductor J. C. Turner and six cars. (later information has shown that Casey was taking the run normally held by engineer Sam Tate on the 382. Casey had returned earlier on the No. 2 with engine 384, his regular engine.) A good engine, a good fireman, a light train and away late; the perfect setting for a record run. He made that record run too, if the oft quoted departure time of 12:50 is correct, for Casey went to Goodman on time for a meet with No. 2 and Goodman is twenty miles north of Canton.

Let's imagine we are with him on that last run. As we move out of Memphis and through the yard Casey could gain a few minutes time for there was a little padding to take care of normal yard delays. Once he passed the switch at East Junction, Sim had better be ready because it was uphill and fast for several miles. There were slow curves at intervals until he topped Hernando hill twenty one miles out and then hold on to your hat for it was down the hill through Love Station and across Coldwater River bottom as the telegraph poles began to look like a picket fence. One more slow curve south of Coldwater and then the Grenada District racetrack for sixteen miles with only a gentle curve at Senatobia and another at Como.

As Casey passed through Senatobia his thoughts were with Dave Dowling and his fireman Jack Barnett. They had roared through the same way last November and turned over at the south crossing, killing both of them. Funny thing, Casey reflected, how the newspaper account headlined the story "Mail Train Delayed by Accident." At some length it was explained that due to a wreck of the down train on Monday morning, the mail was late and several local citizens who were returning from visits to Memphis were quite late getting home. The last sentence briefly stated, "Both the engineer and fireman of the train were killed instantly in the overturning of the giant locomotive." No names were given! A fellow sure deserved to get his name in the paper for that day's work, Casey must have thought. Engineers will never get to be famous with that kind of publicity.

A quick water stop at Sardis. Fifty miles out and Casey noted with satisfaction that he had picked up more time than he hoped. From here to Grenada would be slower, but he could steal a little on the curves and let her ramble across the creek and river bottoms and make up some more time. It worked just as he planned it and he really let No. 382 go from the top of Hardy Hill to Memphis Junction, one mile from Grenada. Too fast around that curve at Hardy; pity that poor baggage man; he would have to stack it all up again. If he ever became superintendent, mused Casey, as he stopped for Sim to line the switch at Memphis Junction, he was going to see that this switch was lined for the Grenada district instead of the Water Valley district. He had run through it one morning about two weeks before and his ears were still burning from the comments of Trainmaster Bill Murphy.

When he stopped for water at the penstock at Grenada, Casey was only about forty minutes late, and a hundred miles out. That light train sure made a difference. A fellow had to ease off on this No. 382 to keep from going through the curves too fast on top of the hills as well as the bottom. They might call him in about coming to Grenada too fast, so he had better drift some south of Grenada. The track was fast from Grenada to Eckridge, some curves up the hill to Sawyer, then a brief stop at Winona. From Winona to Durant he was looking at thirty miles of speedway and no restricted curves. He would see eighty through the creek bottom just south of Magee siding, if he wasn't badly fooled, and that was fast for the light rail he was on. No strain on the 382 though !

Red order board at Durant! The Winona operator had OSed him out better than dispatcher Taylor had hoped, so northbound passenger No. 2 got orders out of Canton annulling a Durant meet; now they would meet at Goodman. "That Jones boy is showing off again," George Barnett, engineer on No. 2, would say as he went by Goodman. "And they don't pay a dime more for a fast run than they do a good one."

By the time he had headed out of the passing track at Goodman Casey was five minutes late but going to Canton on time would be a simple matter if all went well. Experience told him there was congestion somewhere ahead for there were several freights he normally passed and met that were not accounted for. He had no orders on northbound local passenger No. 26 so they would be clearing him somewhere on the time card schedule. If there was a saw-by waiting for him it must be working because No. 2 was about on time. Things were looking good and that bed in Canton would feel good too. He was getting tired. Went in on No. 4, his regular job, last night expecting to get a good night's sleep but they had called him to double out on No. 1; Sam Tate was off and no qualified man available.

Casey was by Pickens now and almost on time. No trains here in the passing track; they all must be at Vaughan six miles ahead.

While Casey was rolling south, the stage was being set for his tragic wreck. Southbound freight No. 83 had arrived at Vaughan and while pulling into the

Vaughan's Station, October 1900.
passing track had pulled out two drawbars. Southbound passenger No. 25 was thus delayed some minutes. Northbound freight No. 72 delayed at Way by No. 25 could go no further than Vaughan for northbound passenger No. 2. With freights No. 72 and No. 83 both in the passing track there were more cars than the track would hold so it was necessary for these trains to move north or south to clear the main line switches in order to allow other trains to pass; this is known as a sawby.

Meanwhile, two sections of northbound local passenger No. 26 arrived from Canton and had to be sawed in on the house track on the west side of the main line. As No. 83 and No. 72 hurried to saw back south to clear the north passing track switch for Casey, an air hose broke on the fourth car behind the engine on No. 72; No. 72 could not move. No. 83 was blocked by No. 72 and he could not move. Several cars of No. 83's train were still out on the main line above the north switch. Fireman Kennedy on No. 72 was closest to the broken hose so he rushed back to change it. Before he could get the hose on, the crash came.

The No. 382 crashed through the caboose and several cars lunged crazily to
Cover of Railroad Stories magazine from the 1920's.
the left and came to rest on the engineer's side pointing back from whence she came. Casey was mortally wounded by a bolt or piece of splintered lumber having struck him in the throat (information available later has shown that eyewitnesses reported that a metal bolt struck Casey in the neck). A stretcher was brought from the baggage car on No. 1 and crewmen of the other trains carried him the one-half mile to the depot. Here, lying on a baggage wagon, Casey died.

What went wrong? Sim Webb says he saw the flagman and heard torpedoes. Crews on the other train said they heard torpedoes. Many have said Casey was "short flagged" but John Newberry was an experienced man and he had flagged No. 25 a short time before. The railboard's formal investigation concluded that "Engineer Jones was solely responsible for the accident as consequence of not having properly responded to flag signals." The implication being that Casey got a saw-by sign from Newberry and assumed the north switch would have been cleared for him. He made a brake application and was slowing when Sim saw the caboose and shouted. The emergency application was not enough, but it slowed the train enough that no passenger or other crew member was seriously injured.



Why didn't Casey jump? That is really the hard one to answer. Once the engineer puts the brake in emergency, reverses the engine and opens the sanders, the engine had no further need of his services. It is up to air and steel to stop the train. You would just have to understand how Casey loved his job, his engine and the railroad to understand why he did not jump. There might be one chance in a million that he could do something else; he wanted to be there to do it.
They switched out enough cars of the two No. 26's to make up a train, transferred No. 1?s passengers and sent them on south. Casey's body was taken to Canton in the baggage car. Next morning he made the long trip back home to Jackson, Tennessee on passenger No. 26. On the following day the funeral service was held in St. Mary?s Church where he and Janie Brady had married fourteen years before. Burial was in Mt. Calvary's Cemetery. The newspaper account lists the names of fifteen enginemen from Water Valley who were there to pay their last respects. This was something of a record too. Fifteen men laying off to honor a friend by riding 118 miles to his funeral.

If we did not already know that Casey was not the rounder the song would have you believe, we know it now.
If ypu were around in 1943 Life Magazine, had a section about Casey Jones!!!
The Following are newspaper clippings! Enjoy!
THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL, Memphis, Tennessee
DEAD UNDER HIS CAB
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THE SAD END OF ENGINEER CASEY JONES
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ILLINOIS CENTRAL WRECK
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Southbound Passenger Train No. 1 Crashes Into the Rear of a Freight - Details of the Accident.
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Jackson, Miss., April 29 -- (Special) -- A disastrous collision occurred about 4 o?clock this morning at Vaughan?s Station eleven miles north of Canton. The engineer, Casey Jones, was instantly killed and Express Messenger Miller was hurt internally, but not seriously.
The south-bound passenger train No. 1 was running under a full head of steam when it crashed into the rear end of a caboose and three freight cards which were standing on the main track, the other portion of the train being on a sidetrack. The caboose and two of the cars were smashed to pieces, the engine left the rails and plowed into an embankment, where it overturned and was completely wrecked, the baggage and mail coaches also being thrown from the track and badly damaged. The engineer was killed outright by the concussion. His body was found lying under the cab, with his skill crushed and the right arm torn from its socket. The fireman jumped just in time to save his life. The express messenger was thrown against the side of the car, having two of his ribs broken by the blow, but his condition is not considered dangerous.

The other employees and all of the passengers were more or less jostled by the shock, some of them receiving bruises and slight wounds, none of which, however, were serious.

Every effort was made to stop the speeding train, but without success. Two flagmen were sent down the track with danger signals and torpedoes were placed on the rails as a warning, but the engineer did not seem to take any notice of the signals nor to realize the situation until within a short distance of the caboose, when he made a violent attempt to put on the air brakes, but the distance was too short to avoid the crash. The freight boxes were loaded with bundled hay and the scattered coals from the engine soon set fire to the debris and it was feared at one time that the whole mass of wreckage would be destroyed, but the fire was finally extinguished without doing very great damage.

The train was what is known as the New Orleans fast mail; it was running on time and was in charge of Conductor Turner of Memphis. The indirect cause of the wreck seemed to be a lack of switching facilities at Vaughan?s. Four long freight trains had gotten there and the siding was not sufficient to accommodate them. Traffic on the road has been unusually heavy since the recent floods and the delay in freight transportation has caused much inconvenience.

A wrecking train from Canton reached the scene soon after the accident occurred and the debris was cleared away and the track put back in shape within a few hours.

Engineer Jones had been in the service of the Illinois Central for many years and was highly esteemed as one of the road?s safest and most capable engineers. He lived at Jackson, Tenn., where his remains were shipped. He leaves a wife and three children.


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CASEY JONES KILLED
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Well-Known I. C. Engineer Meets Death in a Wreck
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VAUGHN, April 30, -- (Special) -- The southbound fast mail, train No. 1, smashed into the rear end of a freight rain at 3:52 this morning, derailing the engine, tender and mail car. Engineer Casey Jones was found buried under the debris of his engine, life being extinct when found. The fireman saved his life only by jumping from the engine just before the collision occurred. Two southbound freights were to take the siding at this station for No. 1, but the siding would not quite hold them in the clear. The freight crew claim to have had out a flagman, but as there was quite a curve in the track the engineer either failed to see the signal or else was unable to stop.
The remains of Engineer Jones were taken to Canton to be prepared for burial.

The officials of the road, Messrs. Gilleas, King, Laden and Driver, with two wreck trains arrived about 10 a.m. and had the track clear by 6 p.m. The engine, tender and mail car of No. 1 and the caboose and two loaded cars of the freight were completely demolished.



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from The Times-Democrat, New Orleans
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HEROIC ENGINEER
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Sticks to his post at cost of life.
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Railroad Wreck at Vaughan?s on Illinois Central Railroad-Terrible Fatality Prevented by Engineer?s Loyalty to Duty - A passenger?s Story.
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Special to The Times-Democrat
Canton, Miss, April 29, - Passenger train No. 1, going south, this morning ran late a freight train at Vaughan?s, wrecking the passenger train and killing the engineer, J. L. Jones, commonly known as ?Casey? Jones, and shaking up the passengers considerably. The Negro fireman received severe injuries, Baggageman Will Miller had two ribs broken and was injured internally.

The siding at Vaughan?s was filled with four freight trains and, in order to allow the passenger train to pass, the freights were compelled to seesaw track.

The engineer of the passenger, it is thought, failed to catch the signal, and his train crashed into the caboose of the freight. The caboose and one or two cards were badly smashed. The rear of the freight caught fire, which was promptly extinguished.

The wreck was cleared from the track about 2 o?clock this afternoon.

The body of engineer Jones was brought to Canton this morning. It will be prepared for burial and sent to his home in Jackson, Tenn. He is survived by a devoted wife and three children. Conductor Turner was in charge of train No. 1. Jones is said to have been one of the best engineers on the road and was well and favorably known here.

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WRECK DESCRIBED BY PASSENGER.
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Engineer Jones Died a Heroic Death
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As an illustration of who ?take the chances? in a railway wreck where a fast passenger train is the preponderating force, the Illinois Central?s wreck at Vaughan?s yesterday is the equal of one of ?Cy Warman?s? most realistic stories. Adam Hauser of this city, formerly a member of The Times-Democrat telegraph staff, was in a sleeper on the southbound fast mail, and his experience and observations are valuable as supplementing the telegraph story of the wreck.
?The passengers did not suffer, and there was no panic,? said Mr. Hauser last evening, ?but there was plenty of interest in the wreck, nevertheless. I was told afterward that two freight trains were switching and the greater part of one of them occupied the main track north whence the fast mail was to come. But the conductor of this train sent back a flagman with tree torpedoes and rested easy.

?There is a curve about a quarter of a mile to the north, and the engineer of the fast mail, Jones, could not see the caboose lights for more than a furlough. It was said by the mail clerk afterward that when he heard the detonation of the three torpedoes he looked out of the car door and said to his assistant: ?There?s a flag, and Jones is running seventy miles!? I understand this was the fact. At any rate, Jones saw the caboose lights too late to prevent an accident. He said to the fireman ?Jump!? and closed the throttle. The fireman prepared to do so and called back, ?You jump, too.? To which Jones replied; ?No, I?ll stay at my post.?

?He may have believed it to be his duty to stick to his post; perhaps it was that he hoped to avert the threatened wreck. Certain it was that he tried to do this, and the trial cost him his life. He had scant time, though, in which to give himself over to thinking, for there was much to do--there was steam to be shut off, the reverse to be applied, the throttle to be reopened, and the ?air? to be put on-and the time was pitiably brief.

?It may have taken every precious second of the time the poor fellow had to perform these duties. The engine crashed into the caboose, and he was buried under the mass of twisted steel and killed instantly by the crushing of the back of his skull. But he left the wheel-locked train behind him safe on the rails for the most part. It is true that the mail car climbed the bank six feet, cut off a telegraph pole, and that the baggage car went obliquely across the track in another direction, but the coaches and sleepers stood safe. I was jarred a little in my bunk, but when fairly awake the train was stopped and everything was still. I threw up my window and saw a red lamp waved frantically in the air, and was sure that trouble had ensued. Jones was underneath his engine, stone dead, when I got out in front. He was scalded afterward, but his death was merciful. The fireman was slightly wrenched and the mail clerk bruised up, but those were all the injuries I heard of. The mystery was that the passengers, in coaches and sleepers, were disturbed so little and hurt not at all. If the speed of the train after the torpedoes went off was accurately judged by the mail clerk, of course Engineer Jones did a wonderful as well as an heroic piece of work, at the cost of his life. The trainmen said that he thought the torpedoes were for the north switch, and maybe they?re right; and at any rat that theory puts the blame where it an do little harm, for Jones has finished his interpretation of train signals.

?The engine was thoroughly wrecked. It looked as though nothing were left but the boiler and trucks. The mail car had a hole in her side that an elephant could have been loaded through, and the baggage car was badly splintered. The marvel and mystery is how Engineer Jones stopped that train. The railroad men themselves wondered at it and of course the uninitiated could not do less. But stop it he did. In a way that showed his complete mastery of his engine, as well as his sublime heroism. I imagine that the Vaughan wreck will be talked about in roundhouses, lunchrooms and cabooses for the next six months, not alone on the Illinois Central, but many other roads in Mississippi and Louisiana. And there was absolutely no excitement among the passengers, though some of them kicked hard about the delay. They may have been born kicking.?

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Yes. Interesting that the writer confused the 638 with the 382 as Jones left it on the Water Valley Division. The 638 was Jones's favorite locomotive, being the one that he ran back from Chicago in 1893. However, the machine on which he met death was the 382.

Now I know this will really "lift everybodys eyebrows", BUT, I must brag a little herein, to wit:

There was a book published many years ago that was written by the late author, "Captain Fredric Shaw" ... It was called "Casey Jones Locker" ..

Captain Shaw was also the author of "Little Railways of the World" ...

In the "Casey Jones Locker" book, there is a section toward the rear pages entitled "Genus Railroadac" or something to that effect...
On one particular page in that section, there are TWO photos.. The TOP photo is Fireman Sim Webb, Mrs.Casey Jones, and a scale model of locomotive # 382...
The BOTTOM photo depicts a young, "Key Route Ken"... See if you can find it !!

The punchline: How many of you can say that you have YOUR photo in a railfan book on the SAME page as the widow of "Casey Jones" ?? (grin)

I know that the Nitehostler has a big birthday coming up; I'm pretty sure he was around during the time of Casey's wreck and remembers it well...

TheButcherofBena Wrote:
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> I know that the Nitehostler has a big birthday
> coming up; I'm pretty sure he was around during
> the time of Casey's wreck and remembers it well...

I think you & I should plan a (one-way for you) trip to Canyon Diablo!

Tom

I wasn't there that day so I don't remember that happening. . . . . .

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