- His real name was Luther Jones - the nickname "Casey" came from the town his family lived in - Cacey, Kentucky.
- Like many small boys, Casey Jones dreamed of becoming a train driver, or an engineer as the profession was known in those days. He started his career at 15, as a telegrapher for the Mobile and Ohio railroad.
- His first experience as a passenger driver was at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. There was to be a shuttle train for visitors to the fair, and Casey volunteered. He spent the summer there, and when it was over, he asked for the job of driving a brand new type of engine, No. 638, back to Tennessee for a service. It was the first cross country trip for the engine. He continued to drive it in service until 1900 when he transferred to Memphis.
- There, he started driving Engine No. 382, known affectionately as "Ole 382.", or "Cannonball", the one most associated with him.
- Five years before his fatal accident, Casey Jones made a heroic rescue of a child on the railway line. A fellow engineer was driving the train while Casey was walking out on the running board, oiling valves. He was bout to return to the cab when he noticed a bunch of children playing chicken on the line. Most of them got well out of the way but one little girl froze in terror at the sight of the oncoming train. He yelled at his colleague to throw the train in reverse and to the girl to get off the line - but she didn't move. Casey climbed onto the cowcatcher at the front of the train, reached out and pulled her, unharmed, off the track.
- One of the things Casey Jones was known for was his punctuality, and the fact his trains always ran on time. He was so punctual, it was said that people set their watches by him. He would push his engine to its limits in order to keep to schedule. This meant taking risks and breaking rules. While Casey was popular with his colleagues, management didn't always share their enthusiasm. Jones was issued nine citations for rules infractions in his career, and spent a total of 145 days suspended. However, penalties for running late were as bad, if not worse.
- Another thing he was famous for was his distinctive train whistle. The sound of it was variously described as "a sort of whippoorwill call," or "like the war cry of a Viking."
- So what was he like as a person? Accounts say he was a devoted family man, a teetotaler and an avid baseball fan, both watching and playing whenever his schedule allowed. He was married to Mary Joanna ("Janie") Brady, who he met while staying at her father's boarding house. A few days before their wedding, he was baptised as a Catholic to please her. They had three children.
- On April 30, 1900, Jones volunteered to work a double shift to cover for a fellow engineer who was ill. The train was an hour and a half late, so Jones was running the engine at almost 100 miles an hour in order to make up the time. Ahead of him, a train had broken down, just beyond a bend in the line. Jones grabbed the brake with one hand and the whistle in the other, to warn those who were working on the train in front. He yelled at his fireman to jump from the cab and save himself. He was the only person killed in the collision. According to popular legend, when his body was pulled from the wreckage, his hands still clutched the whistle cord and brake.
- A song, The Ballad of Casey Jones, and a TV series loosely based on him and starring Alan Hale, Jr. in the title role, cemented Casey Jones's position as a folk hero.
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