Casey Jones
Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee
Marker Inscription
4E 33 Casey Jones From a station on this site the night of Apr. 29, 1900, John Luther Jones, replacing the regularly detailed engineer, took out engine 382, pulling the Illinois Central "Cannonball". Driving into a blocked switch at Vaughan, Miss. early the following morning, he stayed with his engine to save his passengers. He was the only man to die in the wreck.
The Story
On the night of April 29, 1900, engineer John Luther 'Casey' Jones took out Illinois Central engine 382 to pull the fast passenger train known as the Cannonball. Racing to make up lost time, he came upon a blocked switch at Vaughan, Mississippi in the early morning and stayed at his throttle to slow the train, dying in the wreck while his passengers survived. His sacrifice made him one of the great folk heroes of the American railroad.
Why it matters
Casey Jones became legend in song and story, embodying the danger, duty, and romance that Americans attached to the railroad age.
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Related people
- · Casey Jones
Related events
- · Cannonball wreck at Vaughan, Mississippi (1900)
Themes & tags
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