(The following story by Ned B. Hunter appeared on the Jackson Sun website on August 29.)
JACKSON, Tenn. — Its black iron frame stands as a proud symbol of a nation’s past.
Standing on steel rails, it is perhaps the single most recognizable symbol of a youthful nation’s destiny of coast-to-coast expansion and of the men who helped achieve that goal.
The lure of the silver-nosed, No. 382 Baldwin locomotive, a replica of the Rogers steam engine that Casey Jones rode to his death in April 1900, helped draw nearly 750,000 visitors to the Casey Jones Village and Old Country Store in 2003. The village now ranks among the state’s top 10 attractions, according to the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
”I liked learning about this Casey Jones guy. I had never heard of him,” said Tim Burns of Nevada, who stopped by the village recently with his family. ”He must have been pretty brave.”
For the 15-year-old museum worker from the northeastern Nevada city of Elko, the replica depot gave him a sense of America’s history.
”How much simpler life was. With no phones, trains were pretty much the only way to stay in touch,” he said. ”Now we build airports, maybe, eventually, something else.”
Lawrence Taylor, co-owner and museum director since 1978, said Casey’s legend draws nearly 40,000 paid admission customers just to the train museum and Casey Jones’ house.
”Everybody’s heard of Casey Jones, but a lot of people don’t think he’s real,” he said. ”Disney called me one year after they had made their ‘Legends’ cartoon video after they found out he was real. They were afraid they were going to have to pay us royalties. But Casey’s story is in public domain.”
The heroics that Casey Jones displayed the evening of his death, giving his life to save others, is the deed that helps define a legend.
”I think everyone can relate to Casey Jones himself, the allure of a larger-than-life legend,” said Clark Shaw, co-owner of Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store in the Casey Jones Village. ”Casey stayed at his post and gave his life for everyone on that train, a very noble thing to do.”
The story of Casey’s act of nobility intrigues people throughout the world.
”A fellow that I work with was on a coach tour that stopped here, and he said it was very nice,” said Tom O’Shaughnessy of London, England, who stayed in the wood paneled motel room located in the caboose.
”We’re interested in old trains, and it makes you feel like you’re in a train,” said his wife, Susanne, laughing. ”It makes you want to be a kid again and yell ‘All Aboard.”’
Taylor said about half his guests come from overseas. He keeps a pocket world atlas next to his cash register, checking off the home countries of his visitors.
His store, which his wife, Norma, said sells nearly $5,000 a month in Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise, was featured in ”Deutsche Bahn” – German Rail – magazine in 1998.
Casey Jones’ house and museum were opened in downtown Jackson in 1956. The replica engine and the house were transported by flatbed truck in October 1980 to their present location off the U.S. 45 Bypass just south of Interstate 40. Country music singer Roy Acuff rode in the engine ringing the bell during the journey.
Casey Jones was carrying the mail and passengers the night he died. He had the right of way, according to train regulations at the time, Taylor said. The 37-year-old engineer left behind a wife and three children.
While there were 2,000 people killed by trains in 1900, none of Casey’s passengers were injured in the crash.
Casey Jones’ route from Chicago to New Orleans was run for nearly 100 years, even for a time by Amtrak, Shaw said.
His engine was used after the accident until 1935, but its number was changed from No. 382, to Nos. 5012, 2012 and finally 446, because engineers believed the locomotive was cursed and refused to drive it.
It seems only right that Jackson should be home to one of railroad’s greatest legends. Jackson is a former railroad hub, having been home to five railroad presidents.
Casey and his wife, Janie Brady Jones, a Jackson native, are buried in Jackson in the Mount Calvary cemetery on Hardee Street.
His granddaughter Nancy Howse still lives in Jackson. She could not be reached for comment.
Casey Jones’ life
# Born John Luther Jones on March 14, 1863.
# Moved to Jackson in 1881 at age 18 as a brakeman for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. His peers nicknamed him Casey after his hometown of Casey, Ky.
# Began working for the Illinois Central in March 1888 as a fireman, and was promoted to engineer in 1890.
# Earned a reputation for speed – getting a train to the station ”on the advertised,” or on time, while running the Jackson-to-Water Valley, Miss., route.
# He received nine citations for his speed.
# Died on April 30, 1900, in Vaughn, Miss., when his No. 382 engine plowed into the rear of train No. 83, whose rear cars blocked Casey’s path due to a mechanical problem.
# Seeing the imminent collision, Casey yelled for his friend and fireman Sim Webb to jump for his life, while Casey stayed at the brake trying to stop the train.
# When Casey’s engine struck the rear cars of No. 83, his locomotive was derailed to the left, flung up an embankment and rolled on its side.