Apr 30, 2015
Today marks the 115th anniversary of the death of legendary train
engineer Casey Jones.
Here are some things you may not know about Casey Jones:
One: On board engine number 382, Jones and fireman Sim Webb
departed Memphis, Tennessee for Canton, Mississippi. By the time
they took over, the train was 95 minutes late leaving
Memphis.
Two: By the time the train reached Goodman, Mississippi, which was
163 miles away, the train was only five minutes late and likely to
arrive on schedule at Canton.
Three: Because of train congestion and a disabled train, the main
line was blocked at Vaughan, Mississippi, by the last four cars of
a freight train.
Webb yelled to Jones when he noticed the obstruction and jumped
from the train when Jones told him to.
Jones reversed the throttle and slammed on the airbrakes, but it
wasn’t in time as Jones’ train collided with the caboose and the
three other cars before derailing.
Jones had managed to slow the train from 75 miles per hour to about
35 miles per hour.
Because of his bravery, Jones likely saved the lives of many of the
passengers on board. Jones was the only person killed in the
collision.
Our question: Jones was engineering on the Illinois Central
Railroad’s Cannonball passenger line. Which two cities were at the
end of the Cannonball line?
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