The "Old 97", a Southern Railway train A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway officially known as the Fast Mail, was en route from Monroe, Virginia to Spencer, North Carolina when it left the track There are several main causes of derailment: broken or misaligned rails, excessive speed, faults in the train and its wheels, and collisions with obstructions on the track. Derailment can also occur as a secondary effect in the aftermath of a collision between two or more trains. Trap points protect main lines from runaway vehicles by deliberately at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in Virginia, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for statistical purposes under the Danville, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical on September 27 September 27 is the 270th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 95 days remaining until the end of the year, 1903 1903 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. The wreck A train wreck is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler explosion occurs. Train wrecks have often been widely covered in inspired a famous railroad Rail transport is the means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on. Track usually consists of steel rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast, on ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet, which was the focus of a convoluted copyright Copyright is the set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. These rights can be licensed, transferred and/or assigned. Copyright lasts for a certain time period after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright applies to a wide range of lawsuit A lawsuit, or "suit in law", is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint. If the plaintiff isn't successful, judgment will be given in the.
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The wreck
The wreck of Old 97 occurred when the engineer (driver) A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who operates a railroad locomotive and train. The engineer is in charge of and responsible for the locomotive. They are also in charge of mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all train handling. The engineer shares with the conductor/, Joseph A. ("Steve") Broadey, at the controls of engine number 1102 (a ten wheeler built by Baldwin The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, it was unable to make the transition to diesel power and went out of business in 1956), was operating the train at high speed in order to stay on schedule and arrive at Spencer on time (Old 97 had a reputation for never being late).
Engineer Broadey and two firemen boarded the train at Washington, farther up the line from Spencer, the second fireman being assigned to assist in maintaining the steam Steam is either mist , or the gas phase of water (water vapor) pressure Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure at its maximum so the train would not lose too much speed on ascending grades The grade of any physical feature such as a hill, stream, roof, railroad, road, or aqueduct refers to the amount of inclination of that surface where zero indicates level (with respect to gravity) and larger numbers indicate higher degrees of "tilt". Often slope is calculated as a ratio of "rise over run" in which run is the.[1] The train was substantially behind schedule upon leaving Washington and was one hour late upon arriving at Monroe.
At Monroe, Broadey was instructed to get the Fast Mail to Spencer, 166 miles distant, on time. The scheduled running time from Monroe to Spencer was four hours, fifteen minutes, an average speed of approximately 39 mph The mile per hour is a unit of speed, measured in Imperial units expressing the number of international miles covered per hour (62.4 km/h The kilometre per hour is a unit of speed or velocity, expressing the number of kilometers traveled in one hour. The unit symbol is km/h or km·h−1; however, the colloquial abbreviations "kph" and "kmph" are sometimes also used in English-speaking countries, in analogy to mph, although these are not in accordance with). In order to make up the one hour delay, the train's average speed would have to be at least 51 mph (82 km/h). Broadey was ordered to maintain speed through Franklin Junction, an intermediate stop normally made during the run.
The route between Monroe and Spencer was rolling terrain and there were numerous danger points due to the combination of grades The grade of any physical feature such as a hill, stream, roof, railroad, road, or aqueduct refers to the amount of inclination of that surface where zero indicates level (with respect to gravity) and larger numbers indicate higher degrees of "tilt". Often slope is calculated as a ratio of "rise over run" in which run is the and tight radius In classical geometry, a radius of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its perimeter. By extension, the radius of a circle or sphere is the length of any such segment, which is half the diameter curves. Signs were posted to warn engineers to watch their speed. However, in his quest to stay on time, engineer Broadey rapidly descended a heavy grade that ended at the 75-foot high Stillhouse Trestle, which spanned Cherrystone Creek. He was unable to sufficiently reduce speed as he approached the curve leading into the trestle, causing the entire train to derail There are several main causes of derailment: broken or misaligned rails, excessive speed, faults in the train and its wheels, and collisions with obstructions on the track. Derailment can also occur as a secondary effect in the aftermath of a collision between two or more trains. Trap points protect main lines from runaway vehicles by deliberately and plunge into the ravine below. Nine people were killed, including the locomotive A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th century to distinguish crew and a number of clerks in the mail car In the United States a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly trained Railway Mail Service postal clerks, and was off-limits to the passengers on the train. In the UK, the coupled between the tender and the rest of the train.
The Southern Railway placed blame for the wreck on engineer Broadey, disavowing that he had been ordered run as fast as possible to maintain the schedule. The railroad also claimed he descended the grade leading to Stillhouse Trestle at a speed of more than 70 mph (112 km/h). Several eyewitnesses to the wreck, however, stated that the speed was probably around 50 mph (80 km/h). In all likelihood, the railroad was at least partially to blame, as they had a lucrative contract with the U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the "Post Office", "Postal to haul mail Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post (hence the train's name), the contract including a penalty clause for each minute the train was late into Spencer. It is probably safe to conclude that the engineers piloting the Fast Mail were always under pressure to stay on time so the railroad would not be penalized for late mail delivery.
The ballad
| "'Wreck of the 97'" | |
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Original artist | G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter |
| Recorded by | Vernon Dalhart Vernon Dalhart , born Marion Try Slaughter, was a popular American singer and songwriter of the early decades of the 20th century. He is a major influence in the field of country music |
The wreck A train wreck is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler explosion occurs. Train wrecks have often been widely covered in of the Old 97 served as inspiration for balladeers A songwriter is one who writes the lyrics or music for songs . One who writes only lyrics may be called a lyricist, while one who writes only music may be called a composer. Although songwriters of the past commonly composed, arranged and played their own songs, more recently the pressure to produce popular hits has tended to distribute, the most famous being the ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet first recorded commercially by Virginia musicians G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter[2]. Vernon Dalhart Vernon Dalhart , born Marion Try Slaughter, was a popular American singer and songwriter of the early decades of the 20th century. He is a major influence in the field of country music's version was released in 1924 (Victor Record no. 19427), sometimes cited as the first million-selling country music release in the American record industry [1]. Since then, "Wreck of the Old 97" has been recorded by numerous artists, including David Holt, Flatt and Scruggs Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs met as members of Bill Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1946. The two left that band early in 1948, and within a few months had formed their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Scruggs' banjo style and Flatt's rhythm guitar style as well as his vocals gave them a distinctive sound that won them many fans. In 1955, Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is ", Johnny Cash John R. "Johnny" Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially, Hank Williams III, Patrick Sky, Nine Pound Hammer, Boxcar Willie Boxcar Willie, born as Lecil Travis Martin was an American country music singer, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat. "Boxcar Willie" was originally a character in a ballad he wrote, but he later adopted it as his own stage name, Lonnie Donegan Lonnie Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s. The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums states Donegan was "Britain's most, The Seekers The Seekers were a group of Australian folk-influenced popular musicians that was formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States and were one of the main bands of the 1960s at some points rivalling the popularity of The Beatles, Bert Southwood] and Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. This total includes the number 1 hits "I'm Moving On," "The Golden Rocket", "I Don't Hurt Anymore," "Let Me Go, Lover!," "I've Been Everywhere,&. The Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the band Old 97's The Old 97's are an alternative country band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1993, they have since released seven studio albums and one live album, their most recent being Blame It on Gravity. They are recognized as pioneers of the alt-country movement during the mid to late 1990s along with bands such as Uncle Tupelo, Drive-By Truckers, Whiskeytown, took their name from this song.
Originally, the ballad was attributed to Fred Jackson Lewey[3] and co-author Charles Noell. Lewey claimed to have written the song the day after the accident, in which his cousin Albion Clapp was one of the two fireman aboard the ill-fated train. Lewey worked in a cotton mill that was at the base of the trestle, and also claimed to be on the scene of the accident pulling the victims from the wreckage. Musician Henry Whitter subsequently polished the original, altering the lyrics Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of expression. The lyricist of traditional musical forms, resulting in the version performed by Dalhart Vernon Dalhart , born Marion Try Slaughter, was a popular American singer and songwriter of the early decades of the 20th century. He is a major influence in the field of country music.[2]
In 1927 it was claimed that the actual author An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work of "Wreck of the Old 97" was David Graves George, a local resident who was also one of the first on the scene. George apparently did write a ballad about the wreck, but his claim of authorship was not upheld by the United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Once appointed, Justices effectively, nor did the Court invalidate the 1924 copyright claimed by F. Wallace Rega[4], in part due to the testimony of folklore expert Robert Winslow Gordon. Subsequent research by others, notably Alfred P. Scott, determined that Charles Noell was most likely the originator of the famous ballad, and that George's and Lewey's claims were spurious.[3]
"Wreck of the Old 97" is 777 in the Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud, a librarian in the London Borough of Croydon.
The ballad clearly places the blame for the wreck on the railroad company for pressuring Steve Broadey to exceed a safe speed limit, for the lyrics begin, "Well, they handed him his orders in Monroe, Virginia, saying, 'Steve, you're way behind time; this is not 38 it is Old 97, you must put her into Spencer on time.'"
The wreck and the ballad in popular culture
During the late 1940s, a parody of the ballad was sung that mocked the ties that the folk singer Pete Seeger Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and an iconic figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's "Goodnight, Irene", which had to the Communist Party A political party described as a communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government. The name originates from the 1848 tract Manifesto of the Communist Party by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The lyrics began, "Well they gave him his orders up at Party headquarters, saying, 'Pete, you're way behind the times; this is not '38, it is 1947, there's been a change in that old Party line.'"
An episode of the Suspense radio play [5], starring Frank Lovejoy, and broadcast on March 17, 1952, was loosely based on the ballad, which appears in snatches throughout the play. The facts of the wreck are changed, however, eliminating all but one fireman, all but one mail car clerk, and adding two escaped killers.
The ballad was referenced in the song "Blood On The Coal", a folk parody song from "A Mighty Wind A Mighty Wind is a 2003 mockumentary about a folk music reunion concert and the three groups that must come together to perform on national television for the first time in years. The film was directed by Christopher Guest. The title alludes to the folk standards "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Wasn't That A Mighty Storm", covered", the mockumentary film from Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is a British-American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several "mockumentary" films that feature a repertory-like ensemble cast. In the United. The reference seems to be a tribute A tribute is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. It also incorporated certain aspects of regulated trade in goods and services between the parties under a contractual relationship formed upon duress, and based upon the potential for threats if to the ballad, although the wreck described in "Blood On The Coal" is different from the actual one.
In the movie "The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are a Grammy Award-nominated American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd, respectively in character as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues and harpist/vocalist Elwood Blues, fronted the band," they are handed a list of songs to play at a gig. While the band is cleaning up Elwood says "Sorry we couldn't remember The Wreck of the Old 97."
References
- ^ The Story of American Railroads, copyright 1947, pp. 430-432
- ^ http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/ballads/old97.html The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum
- ^ Lewey, Fred. "Old Ninety Seven (Oct 15, 1925" (mp3). http://www.loc.gov/folklife/Gordon/sound/Old97.mp3. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
- ^ The Story of American Railroads
- ^ "The Wreck of the Old 97" (SWF The file format SWF, has variably stood for "Small Web Format" or "Shockwave Flash". It is a partially open repository for multimedia and vector graphics, originating with FutureWave Software and then coming under the control of Adobe. Intended to be small enough for publication on the web, SWF files can contain animations or). Suspense Part 5. http://oldtimeradio-in-tx.homedns.org/otr/suspense5/. Retrieved on 2008-09-29.
External links
- Mark Daniel Jones - Witness of Wreck
- Historic Marker
- Wreck of the Old 97
- Wreck of the Old 97 song audio
- Biography of Fred Jackson Lewey
Coordinates: 36°35′44″N 79°23′34″W / 36.59556°N 79.39278°W
Categories: Railway accidents in the United States | Vehicle wreck ballads | Southern Railway (US) | Disasters in Virginia | Railway accidents in 1903 | 1903 in the United States | American songs | Folk songs | Actual event ballads
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