114 Years Ago, Railroad Engineer Casey Jones Died

[N2NH]

Interestingly, I came across this one. A lot seems to have happened on this date...

Jonathan Luther "John" "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) from Jackson, Tennessee, was an American railroader who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). As a boy, he lived near Cayce, Kentucky, where he acquired the nickname of "Cayce," which he chose to spell as "Casey." On April 30, 1900, he alone was killed when his passenger train, the Cannonball Express, collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi, on a foggy and rainy night.

His dramatic death, trying to stop his train and save lives, made him a hero; he was immortalized in a popular ballad sung by his friend Wallace Saunders, an African-American engine wiper for the IC.

Any railroad buff has heard of Casey Jones but interestingly, unlike the movie, his engine wasn't numbered "999".

Casey Jones

[W7XF]

[n2ize]

Speaking of train wrecks one of NYC's worst subway wrecks occurred in November of 1918 during rush hour killing close to 100 passengers and seriously injuring many others.and is known as the Malbone Street Wreck. These were the days when the train cars were made of wood. The tracks and tunnel where the wreck took place is still in service to this day and is today a part of what is known as the Franklin Avenue Shuttle. The driver was a dispatcher pressed into service earlier that day during a railroad engineers strike. He was going close to 40 mph on a curve where he should have been doing only around 6 mph, derailing and smashing into the sides of the tunnel.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/technol...und/death.html

[n0iu]

"That's gonna leave a mark!"

[W7XF]

"That's gonna leave a mark!"

Looks like the current status of The Swamp.

[W9JEF]

Casey W Jones:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-s...l_b_37786.html

[W7XF]

Casey W Jones:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-s...l_b_37786.html

Trying to hijack the thread?

[W9JEF]

Trying to hijack the thread?

Just another train wreck. ;)

[WØTKX]

[kb2vxa]

"...his engine wasn't numbered "999"."
The best Anime ever was Galaxy Express 999, when it ran on WNYC channel 31 I was glued to it.

If you're ever in Jackson, TN you can visit the Casey Jones Museum and see an identical engine numbered 382 as was his.

I'm goin' to Jackson, you turn-a loose-a my coat.
'Cos I'm goin' to Jackson.
"Goodbye," that's all she wrote.