The Historic Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum in Jackson, Tennessee
Jonathan Luther Case Jones 1863 1900 from Jackson, Tennessee was an American railroader who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). He was killed on April 30, 1900 when his train collided with a stalled freight train near Vaughan, Mississippi. His dramatic death while trying to stop his train and save the lives of his passengers made him a hero; he was immortalized in a popular ballad As a boy, he lived near Cayce, Kentucky, where he got the nickname of Cayce, which he chose to spell as Casey Railroading was a talent, and Jones was recognized by his peers as one of the best engineers in the business. He was known for his insistence that he get her there on the advertised time and that he never arrived at his destination behind schedule. He was so punctual, it was said that people set their watches by him. Jones was also famous for his peculiar skill with the train whistle. His whistle was made of six thin tubes bound together, the shortest being half the length of the longest. Its unique sound involved a long-drawn-out note that began softly, rose and then died away to a whisper, a sound that became his trademark. The sound of it was variously described as a sort of whippoorwill call, or the war cry of a Viking. People living along the IC line between Jackson and Water Valley would turn over in their beds late at night upon hearing it and say There goes Casey Jones as he roared by. Jones drove the engine until he transferred to Memphis in February 1900. No. 638 stayed in Water Valley. That year he drove the engine that became most closely associated with him, for one time. That was, known affectionately as Ole 382, or Cannonball. It was a steam-driven Rogers 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler with six drivers, each approximately six feet high. Bought in 1898 from the Rogers Locomotive Works, it was a very powerful engine for the time. When a potential disaster arose, all of Jones' skill and the engine's responsiveness were put to the greatest test
Size: 4608px × 3456px
Location: Jackson Tennessee USA
Photo credit: © Brenda Kean / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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