Historic Figures
WITH THE NAME LUTHER
Casey Jones is arguably the most famous railroad engineer in American history. He was made famous by an epic folksong called “The Ballad of Casey Jones†(written in tribute by a black engine wiper who had been a devoted friend to Jones). Casey Jones actually received his nickname from the town from which he hailed, Cayce, Kentucky. He was a loveable, teetotaling Irish family man known for his signature whistle sound which let the people know it was him blowing through their towns. On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1900, Casey Jones was a last minute substitute for another engine driver who wasn’t feeling well. Doubling back from where he came, Casey was on a light “Cannonball†train with only his fireman as a fellow passenger. Intent on getting to his destination in record time, his train was going at 70 miles an hour around a blind curve. Up ahead on the tracks was a stalled freight train. Casey Jones told his fireman to jump, and he collided into the caboose while holding the train’s throttle in one hand and the whistle in the other. His friend Wallace Saunders immortalized him in song which quickly spread the country (especially after vaudeville musicians adopted it) and Casey became a folk hero. The lyrics sing in part: “May his spirit live forever throughout the land / As the greatest of all heroes of a railroad man.â€
Casey Jones is arguably the most famous railroad engineer in American history. He was made famous by an epic folksong called “The Ballad of Casey Jones†(written in tribute by a black engine wiper who had been a devoted friend to Jones). Casey Jones actually received his nickname from the town from which he hailed, Cayce, Kentucky. He was a loveable, teetotaling Irish family man known for his signature whistle sound which let the people know it was him blowing through their towns. On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1900, Casey Jones was a last minute substitute for another engine driver who wasn’t feeling well. Doubling back from where he came, Casey was on a light “Cannonball†train with only his fireman as a fellow passenger. Intent on getting to his destination in record time, his train was going at 70 miles an hour around a blind curve. Up ahead on the tracks was a stalled freight train. Casey Jones told his fireman to jump, and he collided into the caboose while holding the train’s throttle in one hand and the whistle in the other. His friend Wallace Saunders immortalized him in song which quickly spread the country (especially after vaudeville musicians adopted it) and Casey became a folk hero. The lyrics sing in part: “May his spirit live forever throughout the land / As the greatest of all heroes of a railroad man.â€
Casey Jones is arguably the most famous railroad engineer in American history. He was made famous by an epic folksong called “The Ballad of Casey Jones†(written in tribute by a black engine wiper who had been a devoted friend to Jones). Casey Jones actually received his nickname from the town from which he hailed, Cayce, Kentucky. He was a loveable, teetotaling Irish family man known for his signature whistle sound which let the people know it was him blowing through their towns. On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1900, Casey Jones was a last minute substitute for another engine driver who wasn’t feeling well. Doubling back from where he came, Casey was on a light “Cannonball†train with only his fireman as a fellow passenger. Intent on getting to his destination in record time, his train was going at 70 miles an hour around a blind curve. Up ahead on the tracks was a stalled freight train. Casey Jones told his fireman to jump, and he collided into the caboose while holding the train’s throttle in one hand and the whistle in the other. His friend Wallace Saunders immortalized him in song which quickly spread the country (especially after vaudeville musicians adopted it) and Casey became a folk hero. The lyrics sing in part: “May his spirit live forever throughout the land / As the greatest of all heroes of a railroad man.â€