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04/30/2003 Entry: "Casey Jones"

The death day of Casey Jones

From the Writer's Almanac:

It was on this day in 1900 that the legendary train engineer Casey Jones died in a train wreck. He was known for his speed, and he often bragged that his trains always came in on time. He was driving the Cannon Ball express from Memphis, Tennessee, to Canton, Mississippi, trying to make up time because the train was overdue, when his fire man warned him that there was another train up ahead. He ordered his fireman to jump, but he stayed on the train, one hand on the break and the other on the whistle. Though the Cannon Ball crashed and Jones was killed, the passengers were saved because of his efforts to slow the train down. An engine wiper, Wallace Saunders, wrote the first ballad about him, followed by many others, including some versions in German and French.

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Train wrecks have oft been subject matter for American folk tunes. As for the best know song about Casey--written by a colleage and friend--the copyright was sold for a bottle or two of gin.