The Casey Jones Train Crash of 1900 (Episode 17)

In episode 17, we're heading to Vaughn, Mississippi, to look at the infamous wreck of Engine 382. We'll discuss John Luther "Casey" Jones, the engineer at the controls of 382, his career in the railroad industry, and his actions leading up to the wreck, with sidebars on speeding freight trains, the banana business, the Chicago World's Fair, train whistles, and all the Casey Jones songs. We'll also take a look at how Wallace Saunders and Simeon T. Webb publicized the story of the wreck, and our first Special Guest Star (spoiler: it's our Dad) will share his expertise on railroad culture, express lines, how steam engines speed up and slow down, and what caused Casey Jones to think the track was clear on the night of the accident.

*We mistakenly referred to the town in which Casey Jones lived as "Jackson, Mississippi", when it was, in fact, Jackson, Tennessee.

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Sources for this episode include:

"Casey Jones - Epic of the American Railroad" by F. J. Lee, 1921

Audio interview with Simeon Webb 

"Casey Jones Accident Report", A. S. Sullivan / Illinois Central Railroad, 1900

“The Legend of Casey Jones” by J. Lambrecht, National Railroad Museum