Steam & Excursion > A Decade And A Half After Vaughn

Here we have a locomotive that, if not for a night in 1900, that would have been quite unremarkable.

She was built for the Illinois Central by Rogers in 1898; a 79 ton fast passenger 4-6-0 with 69" drivers, 19 1/2 x 26 cylinders and 21,922 pounds of tractive effort.  She was quite a capable locomotive for her day; a time when mainline rail was light and passenger cars were made of wood.

In the spring of 1900, she was assigned to regular engineer Sam Tate, who held the job working from Memphis, Tennessee, to Canton, Mississippi, on #1 "The New Orleans Special" and return on #4 "The New Orleans Fast Mail."  The run was demanding, as the line through Grenada, Mississippi, featured a tough profile to make time on with hills and speed restricted curves.  Some engineers with good seniority passed on the fast passenger assignments over the line, preferring to stick to freight jobs that were slower and considerably safer.

Engineer Tate marked off sick on the evening of April 29, 1900, and John Luther Jones famously agreed to work off his job to cover the run.  When the dust settled after "Casey" Jones rear-ended freight #83 at Vaughn, Mississippi, at 3:52am on April 30th, locomotive #382 would forever be associated with the wreck and the engineer who wasn't regularly assigned to it.

The engines in this series would be renumbered three times during their 40 years of service on the Illinois Central; first into the 200 series and then into the 2000 series.  #382 would first be renumbered #212, and soon became #2012.

By 1915, the locomotive best known for her part in a wreck in Mississippi had been assigned to passenger trains in central Illinois for a number of years.  Here she is making a station stop at Champaign, Illinois, on a sunny afternoon with a northbound train headed for the Windy City.

The locomotive would be renumbered one final time and would wear the number 5012 until retirement.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/15 19:23 by MaryMcPherson.

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Thanks for this very interesting post.  There have been many accounts of the crash and the fate of the engineer and the fireman, but I don't recall ever seeing information about the locomotive.  I was surprised to learn that it remained in service for so many more years.

Thanks again.

Another tidbit of information about this locomotive:

One night she was southbound at the head of train #25, which had a wooden Rock Island office car bringing up the markers.  She passed the hamlet of Edgewood, Illinois, at 12:10am, running over a half-hour late.  14 miles later, she stopped to take water at Kinmundy.

Following behind #25 was #3, which had a Pacific for power.  Rules at the time required operators to space trains apart no closer than ten minutes, though the Edgewood operator failed to hold #3 and the engineer later stated he passed the Edgewood station at 12:18am.  So you now have a faster train running closer than it should to a train making a stop on an unsignaled mainline.

With a business car on the rear of #25, the flagman was in the vestibule ahead of the business car rather than stationed at the rear.  At the same time, steam from the train heat obscured one of the marker lights on the business car.

The end result was rather predictable, as the engineer on #3 didn't see the rear of #25 until it was too late.  Four railroad executives were killed when #3's locomotive telescoped nearly a third of the length of the business car.

This was the Kinmundy wreck of January 22, 1912, and while #2012 was an innocent victim in the accident, it didn't help her reputation as a bad luck engine.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

A very timely post . I am working on a slide show regarding the filming of the train scenes in the Coen Bros. film, O'Brother where Art Thou, in Mississippi in 1999.  During my travels about the state during prep. I stopped at the Casey Jones museum in Vaughn on several occasions. Didn't matter what day or time I was there, it was always closed.

Here are three pics I took during one stop,  I understand the ex-SP (T&NO) 0-6-0 is no longer there​.

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I stopped by Vaughn several years ago.  Not only is the locomotive gone, the depot is gone too.  It wasn't the original depot, by the way; it had been moved to Vaughn from nearby Pickens.

I shot film while I was there, and put this http://youtu.be/g0P4zscXdzM on my YouTube site.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

I inherited a c.1910 record of Casey Jones by Billy Murray and the American Quartet. It is the version that caused a big to do.  The last verse is: "Go to bed chillin and hush your cryin', you've got another papa on the Salt Lake Line."

Yeah, the popular song wasn't much for historical accuracy.  I wrote a variation one morning in my lounge car between station stops, musically and somewhat lyrically based on the Mississippi John Hurt version.

Casey Jones was a brave engineer
He told his fireman not to fear

"All that we need is some water and some coal
Keep the engine hot, and I'll make the mail roll."

Casey Jones came rolling into town
Running like the devil cause his train had fallen down

Said "the way we're rolling, if they clear the line
There isn't any doubt we'll make Canton on time

Casey Jones came rolling into Vaughn
Fireman looked ahead as the train was moving on

Said "oh my lord, there's a red light up ahead
Casey said "you jump, cause if you don't we'll both be dead

Casey Jones was a brave engineer
Stayed at his post even though it cost him dear

Rode into the wreck with his whistle screaming on
Saved everybody else, but ol' Casey's dead and gone


It was also a good excuse to play a solo on the accoustic guitar.....

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/15 17:13 by MaryMcPherson.

Interesting that your photo of the depot preserves a unique southern feature and that now it is gone.  There are very few depots in the south (at least in Texas, mississippi and Louisiana) that I know of that still exist with that feature.   Any guessers?

Jim Crow.