Casey Jones' birthday was this month

The historical markers at the Casey Jones home in Jackson, Tenn. (if it is still there..

Jackson was hit with a tornado after I visited), tell the story just as described in the

opening account above, with Jones as a hero.  (As I remember it, there was the house,

a locomotive, and a caboose, at the entrance to a parking lot of a small shopping center

that was on the edge of town)

The Casey Jones Village and Old Country Store complex is still there. In fact, a greatly expanded museum opened two years ago and is certainly worth a visit. The many displays give an interesting and thorough account of Casey Jones' life, and of course, offer an in-depth analysis of the accident. 

The several pieces of rolling stock on display include a Baldwin ten-wheeler that could have been the prototype for the WBB Ten-Wheeler. And the Jones family home is open for visitors as part of the museum's offerings.

It was my privilege to have met Casey's son many times in the mid-fifties. Long retired from the Illinois Central, and well up in years, he was still very spry, was always dressed in coat and tie, and had an abundance of good humor and kindness - a true Southern gentleman.

If you are traveling through western Tennessee on I-40, the museum is worth a stop. It is located right beside a Jackson exit - you'll see the caboose in the sky!

So,....  the Birthday was March 14th, 1863. Keeping with the thread.

SAM