To prepare this article, I've read as much as I could find on this subject. I have reached a conclusion that I'd like to share with you; Casey Jones and his family were screwed! Screwed by the Illinois Central Railroad. Exploited by two charlatans who stole a fair tribute song and changed the facts to suggest Mrs. Jones had a side affair. And, last but not least, capitalized on by a band that for record sales recast Casey Jones as recklessly operating under the influence of amphetamines.
The story of John Luther Jones and the April 30, 1900 crash of Illinois Central Railroad Engine No. 382 at Vaughan, MS is well documented. You can listen to the firsthand account of the person who was standing right next to Jones seconds before the crash: Simeon Webb. You could go to Jackson, TN and visit the official Casey Jones Museum. Also, the book “Casey Jones: The True Story of John Luther ‘Casey’ Jones” written in 1939 by Fred Lee is a great source. Fred Lee was a friend of Casey Jones and presents firsthand accounts from people who interacted with the real John Luther “Casey” Jones.
You can also find dozens of blogs, vlogs, and articles on the internet written about this story. Unfortunately, you can't learn much by watching the 1958 TV series “Casey Jones” starring Alan Hale (Yes, Skipper from Gilligan's Island). Trust me, I watched an episode.
To support my argument, I'll provide the necessary historical background about Casey Jones' life, the details of the crash and its “official” investigation, and then my take on that investigation. You decide for yourself; but, I think the Jones family should have been awarded millions of dollars in damages (or hundreds of thousands if we go by the value of the dollar in 1900).
I. “SPIGOTS” TO “CASEY”
John Luther Jones was born on March 14, 1863 (some say 1864) in a backwoods region of southeast Missouri. In 1876, when John Luther was thirteen his family emigrated to Cayce, Kentucky (pronounced “Casey”). John Luther’s father was a country school teacher. His mother cared for five children; four boys and a daughter.
The Mobile & Ohio Railroad maintained a water cooling and telegraph station at Cayce, KY. Young John Luther often hung around the train station to watch the steam engine take water and be on its way.
The M&O line ran through Cayce on its way from New Orleans to St. Louis. The engineers took a liking to John Luther and allowed him to help complete their maintenance checklist items during water stops. The M&O engineers nicknamed John Luther “Spigots” because he had once asked “why the engine spit steam from the spigots when its stopped.” John Luther was referring to the watercocks that released steam from the engine cylinders as they cooled. (F.Lee 15). Here is what a typical steam engine looked like back then.
When John Luther or “Spigots” was 15, he boarded that M&O train and headed to Columbus, KY to become an engineer. When he arrived, some of the engineers recognized him. Recognition came not just because he was lil' "Spigots” from Cayce, but because he was also talented catcher for the baseball team the Cayce Dreadnaughts which played the Columbus Hornets. Yes, Casey Jones played baseball! That is when they changed his nickname from “Spigots” to “Cayce.” Then, to top it off, they said lets spell it C-A-S-E-Y since he was Irish. John Luther Jones was known as Casey Jones from that day forward. (F.Lee 46).
Casey started out as a telegrapher. Each train station had a telegraph machine and it was the telegrapher's job to report to the next station (via Morse Code) the exact time of arrival and departure of the M&O train. It was absolutely imperative for the locomotive engineers to adhere to the schedules. This meant following the predefined speeds so that the next station could calculate arrival. There was no way to contact an engineer en route to inform him of a problem; all problems needed to be cleared before the calculated arrival.
Casey excelled as a telegrapher and was promoted to brakeman on the Columbus, KY to Jackson, TN route. In 1887, Casey Jones left the M&O and obtained a position as a fireman (the guy shoveling coal responsible for keeping the fire going in a steam locomotive) for the Illinois Central Railroad. He was promoted to freight engineer in 1891 and developed a reputation as a solid engineer; always on time.
Casey Jones had a custom made train whistle. It was made of six tubes bound together and gave a unique “whippoorwill call” like the “war cry of a Viking.” (Cite). In an interview, Casey Jones' wife said, “he established a sort of trademark for himself by his inimitable method of blowing a whistle. It was a kind of long-drawn-out note that he created, beginning softly, then rising, then dying away almost to a whisper. People living along the Illinois Central right of way between Jackson and Water Valley would turn over in their beds late at night and say: 'there goes Casey Jones' as he roared by.” (Cite).
Casey Jones' Whistle
As much as he was respected as a punctual engineer, Casey Jones had a few infractions. He crashed his locomotive into a caboose at Toone, TN. This one, however, was certainly not his fault. As he was pulling into the station at Toone, another train backed out onto the mainline right in front of Casey's path. (F.Lee 189). In total, Casey received nine citations for rules infractions and was suspended a total of 145 days in his career at the Illinois Central.
Nonetheless, Casey Jones' successes overshadowed his infractions. In 1900, he was promoted to passenger service. He was assigned to the Memphis, TN to Canton, MS line and engineered a new state of the art locomotive: the No. 638.
Casey Jones on the ICRR 638
II. THE CRASH AT VAUGHAN
The Illinois Central (IC) ran between Memphis, TN and Grenada, MS on an extremely tricky line of track. Hills, tight turns, and pressure to deliver made the run a white knuckle ride. That line was called the “Cannonball Express.” Casey's close friend was killed on that line and as fate would have it, Casey's seniority placed him next in line to receive what was then the company's proudest position: engineer of the No. 382 engine of the Cannonball Express. (F.Lee 251).
Simeon “Sim” Webb was assigned to be Casey Jones' fireman. Sim Webb was a very well respected fireman and he was honored to be assigned to work with Casey Jones. (F.Lee 257). As we will see, Sim Webb was loyal to Casey's memory until he himself passed away in 1957.
Sim Webb
On April 29, 1900, Casey arrived at Memphis after a shift pulling the northbound Cannonball Express. His supervisor informed him that the engineer for the scheduled southbound was sick and couldn't do the trip. Casey agreed to pull a double shift. That southbound train was already one hour and fifteen minutes behind schedule. Casey insisted on using his own No. 382 locomotive to pull the six coaches of passengers and mail. (Cite). He promised his boss he would make up the lost time. (F. Lee 262). The southbound Cannonball Express departed Memphis Station at 12:50 AM.
This trip was usually operated at 50 mph. To make up for the lost time, Casey would have to average 60 mph and higher on long stretches. There were three scheduled stops along the way. Sim Webb kept the fire hot and Casey was on target to arrive at his destination, Canton, MS, on time. (F.Lee 264).
Further down the line at Vaughan, MS, two freight trains had met head to head and had to clear. The tracks were configured in a manner allowing each train to jug handle off the main line. While configuring on the jug handle to clear the main line, one of the trains blew an air hose causing the wheels to lock up leaving two cars blocking the main line. Casey and the No. 382 were fast on their way to Vaughan and there was no way to contact them.
There is a left bend in the tracks incoming to Vaughan. This gave Sim Webb on the left, the first sight down the line towards Vaughan. Sim yelled “My Lord there is something on the main line.” (Cite) Casey yelled at Sim to jump and immediately pulled the air brakes and laid on the whistle. Sim jumped. The No. 382 collided into the rear of a caboose that was on the main line. (F.Lee 271).
Sim regained consciousness and heard people yell “here he is”. It was Casey Jones whom they had found. He was dead. Casey's hands were still gripping the brake and the whistle. He had managed to slow the train down to a speed that was not catastrophic. Other than Casey, there were no fatalities. Only two people suffered minor injuries. The crash occurred at 3:52 AM as shown on Casey Jones' pocket watch which stopped ticking at the moment of impact.
Casey Jones' Pocket Watch
A passenger aboard the No. 382 described his experience as follows ““The passengers did not suffer, and there was no panic. I was jarred a little in my bunk, but when fairly awake the train was stopped and everything was still. Engineer Jones did a wonderful as well as a heroic piece of work, at the cost of his life.”
III. THE "INVESTIGATION"
The Illinois Central conducted an investigation into the cause of the crash. The company determined that Casey Jones was solely at fault for the crash. You can read the full company report here. According to IC records, an “order” was sent to Durant (one of the three station stops) warning Casey Jones that the line at Vaughan was blocked and he needed to delay. (F.Lee 268). The company investigation found that the crew at Vaughan had placed “torpedoes” on the track 3,000 feet ahead of the station. These are little explosives designed to warn engineers of a problem ahead so they can pull the brakes.
Railway Torpedo
Also, the company reported that a flagman with a red fuse was placed 500 to 800 feet ahead of the torpedoes to warn the oncoming train. The report claims that the flagman would have been in Casey Jones' view for one and half miles.
The Company report stated Sim Webb (who the report describes as a “colored”) saw the flagman and heard the torpedoes. The report claims that Casey Jones, however, failed to notice the flagman waiving the fuse and did not notice the torpedoes. As a result, he collided into the cars blocking the main line.
The company's probable cause determination; “[a]s shown above, Engineer Jones was solely responsible for the collision by reason of having disregarded the signals given by Flagman Newberry.”
IV. THE INVESTIGATION WAS A SHAM
Remember, the year was 1900 and the location was Mississippi. Sim Webb was African American. The “official report” believed that Sim Webb's race was important enough to call out (see above referring to him as a “colored”). Why? Perhaps it is because Sim Webb never said that he heard the torpedo explosion, never said that he saw the flagman, and said that there was never an order at Durant to delay due to a blocked main line at Vaughan. (Cite) In fact, Sim Webb, to his dying day swore as much.
Sim Webb left a recording of his account of the crash at Vaughan. Listen here. The only warning Casey Jones received about the main line being blocked was as the train rounded the bend into Vaughan and Sim Webb yelled, “Oh my lord there's something on the main line.” Mr. Webb further explained, “[i]f a train is blocking the main line, railroad rules require that a flagman must go out ten telegraph poles distance and place two warning torpedoes two rail lengths apart and then a stop torpedo. If a train approaches he must also light a red fuse. This flagman must remain out until called in. Without warning we plowed into that caboose.” As to credibility, listen to Sim Webb's voice choke up when he describes how Casey could not escape due to the configuration of the engineer compartment beginning at 3:23.
If the company wanted to prove Mr. Webb was lying, it would have gone to the tracks where the torpedoes were allegedly placed and documented the charring left by the explosion. It would have looked at the front wheels of No. 382 and documented the torpedo charring. It would have documented the spent red fuse from the flagman. None of this evidence is documented - we can reasonably assume it never existed. Instead, the IC expects us to believe that Casey Jones ignored the man waiving a red fuse (for over a mile and a half), ignored three torpedo charges, and ignored Sim Webb saying “hey, Casey there's a flagman”, and "hey, Casey did you hear those torpedoes." Give me a break!
Mr. Webb's final words (in his recorded account) are “If we had been properly warned, Casey Jones might have been alive today.” Let's probe that last remark further just in case any lawyers are reading this and want to know about causation. Would a warning have saved Casey Jones' life?
To figure this out we have to determine the stop distance of his train traveling at 75 mph and compare that to the distances the company states the warnings were given (3,500-3,800 ft.) before the blockage. Engine No. 382 was a Rogers Steam Locomotive built around 1896. Its total weight was 253,300 lbs. (Cite). Passenger cars in that time weighed approximately 133,700 lbs. (Cite). Let's add nine tons (18,000 lbs) for coal and 41,700 lbs. for water (5000 gal). The train could hold 300 passengers at the most, so let's add 51,000 lbs. more. That gives us a total weight of 1,166,200 lbs. of train rolling down the track at 75 mph when the emergency brakes are applied. Our deceleration rate is based on a dry train track and wheel producing a .3 co-efficient of friction. (Cite).
The formula to calculate stopping distance is to take the end speed “v” (which here is zero), minus initial speed “u” squared in meters per second which is 33.33 m/s squared to 1,110.9 m/s, divided by the deceleration rate squared which is -0.9. That gives us 1,234 meters or 4048 ft. (Cite) Surely, Casey Jones would have applied the emergency brakes when he saw the red fuse and in the end, No. 382 would have just kissed the caboose if it came close at all. No harm done. In fact, those calculations are crude and do not account for the fact that the brakes would have been pulled at some point a mile and half before the flagman and that the stretch of rails in question is (per the official report) on an incline. I'm also underestimating the deceleration rate since I don't know the exact braking coefficient of an 1896 Rogers steam locomotive Westinghouse air brake.
Could it be that the Illinois Central Railroad Company lied when it said Sim Webb heard the torpedoes and saw the flagman as a means to pin the cause of the crash on Casey Jones? What motivation could the company have had? One effect of pinning the cause of the crash on Casey Jones was to limit its financial damages exposure. Note that the “Official Report” references personal injury settlement pay outs. However, there is no wrongful death pay out to Mrs. Jones and her three children. Read on to see the value of the loss of Casey Jones to his family.
V. THE JONES FAMILY
Back in 1884 when Casey Jones worked at the M&O, he was promoted to “flagman” and moved to Jackson, TN. He lived in a boarding house in Jackson and fell in love with the owner's daughter, Joanne “Janie” Brady. They married November 25, 1886.
Casey and Janie had three children; Charles, Helen, and John.
When Casey was promoted to engineer the “Cannonball Express” his family was worried. When Casey left to take his new position, he embraced his family one by one. Helen, then ten years old was last. Fred Lee writes “Helen buried her curly head on his shoulder, her little arms around his neck, and whimpered. 'I don't want you to go Daddy.' ‘Papa will be back soon, honey and bring you a great big doll.’ Casey whispered in her ear, kissed her several times and put her down.” That was the last time Casey saw his children. (F.Lee 253). Casey and Janie had their last meeting a few months later when she visited him in Memphis. She went there to look for a house to buy so the family could make the move from Jackson. They found a house and intended to move in May of 1900. (F.Lee 258).
On April 30, 1900, Janie Jones was in her front yard at Jackson, TN with her four year old son John. Charles and Helen were at school. A neighbor, Kate O'Hanlon, was asked to tell Mrs. Jones that Casey had been killed in a train wreck in the early morning hours. Fred Lee writes “[w]ith her first view of the messenger one of Janie's hands fluttered to her breast and the other reached gropingly for the baby, as if instinctively seeking the comfort of actual physical contact with him. A pinched look settled about her mouth, and she saved Mrs. O'Hanlon the distress of trying to break the news by degrees. ‘I know,' Janie said quietly. ’Casey is dead.'"
Mrs. Jones wore black everyday after her husband's death. She was bestowed with awards and dedications in her husband's honor. She passed away in 1958.
If I was a juror hearing the case, “The Estate of John Luther Jones v. The Illinois Central Railroad”, I would award the family heavy damages. (note these are the days before Workers' Compensation where you can't sue your employer). This crash was not Casey Jones' fault. What do you think?
VI. LEGACY
What did the Jones family receive? A small union life insurance payment, a few witty songs, and folk hero status. The original “Ballad of Casey Jones” was written and sung by a man named Wallace Saunders. Mr. Saunders was a laborer at the M&O Railroad and knew Casey Jones then. He also landed a job as an engine wiper at the Illinois Central. To Wallace, Casey Jones was a celebrity.
Wallace Saunders
The Wallace Saunders version was never recorded. Instead, two white guys who heard Wallace sing the song, stole it, changed some lyrics, and recorded it as their own.
That song published in 1909 falsely implied that Janie Jones was unfaithful to Casey. “Hush up children, and quit your cryin' for you've got another papa on the Salt Lake Line.” That's pretty defamatory. Janie Jones said, “[t]he Casey Jones song has haunted my whole life.” In fact, the city of Jackson, TN banned the song out of respect for her. (Cite). Should we get a pass for singing about Casey Jones being high on cocaine and operating a steam locomotive? Legally, I guess so so since everyone is dead and the story is now legend. However, I'm done playing the song… Just kidding; the song rocks we are still going to play it, but when we do let's send it out to the Jones family.
VII. POST SCRIPT
I came across a very cool YouTube video from a person who went to the Casey Jones' crash site in Vaughan, MS and documented its appearance. (See it here). There is also a web page documenting the old Casey Jones Museum at Vaughn. (here). Here is what that old museum looks like today.
Today the Casey Jones crash site is marked by two large dumpsters and a pole.
The pole used to hang a plaque, however, it was stolen. The cameraman documented the bend coming into Vaughan where Sim Webb would have first seen the blocked main line.
He also walked down the line and documented the crash location as it looks today.
Here is a picture of Mrs. Jones and Sim Webb at the crash site plaque dedication. It's a shame someone stole it. Perhaps we should all chip in for a new one.
