Casey Jones Dies: The Legend of the Railroad Hero
Engineer Casey Jones drove his locomotive into a stalled freight train in Vaughan, Mississippi, staying at the throttle to brake while ordering his fireman to jump. His death at age 36 while trying to save his passengers transformed him into an American folk hero, immortalized in the ballad that became one of the most recorded songs in country music history.
April 30, 1900
126 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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