FIAMMA'S FUN FACTS FRIDAY

This is the end of the line, folks - you don't need to read any more posts this week after mine! In fact, I might need to charge you for this journey! I'm going to be talking about train whistles, Casey Jones, and some fun facts about railroad laws and rules! I've been playing my toy train whistle all day.

First, I have to explain what a cowcatcher is; more commonly referred to as a pilot. Invented by British engineer Charles Babbage, the cowcatcher was a v-shaped device attached to the front of a train in order to clear obstacles off the track without disrupting the movement of the train. The shape of the cowcatcher lifts any object on the track and pushes it to the side, out of the way of the locomotive behind it. We may need one or two of these on this blog at times!

John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was the heroic railroad engineer of the Cannonball locomotive. As a boy, he lived near Cayce, Kentucky, where he acquired the nickname of "Cayce" which he chose to spell as "Casey." He worked for the Illinois Central Railroad (I.C.R.R.) and was known as the man who always brought the train in on time. He was considered by his peers as one of the best in the business and known for his insistence that he "get her there on the advertised" (time) and that he never "fall down" (arrive at his destination behind schedule). He was so punctual, it was said that people set their watches by him.

He was also famous for his unique whistle which involved a long drawn-out note that began softly, rose, and then died away to a whisper. It was said that people would recognize that whistle and know when Casey was driving past. It was described as "a sort of whippoorwill call" or "like the war cry of a Viking.”

In 1893, during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, the I.C.R.R. was charged with providing commuter service for the thousands of visitors to the fairground. Jones took the duty, shuttling many people from Van Buren Street to Jackson Park during the exposition. It was his first experience as an engineer in passenger service and he liked it. He was also a hero when he rescued a child from the tracks in 1895. Walt Disney made a cartoon called The Brave Engineer in 1950, based on the exploits of Casey Jones.

On a rainy and foggy night on April 29, 1900, Casey brought the Cannonball into Memphis on time. As he was leaving, he found out one of the other engineers was sick and unable to make his run, so Casey volunteered to help out his friend. He pulled the No. 638 train out of the station about 11 p.m., 1 hour and 35 minutes late, along with his friend and fireman, Simon (Sim) Webb. (The fireman and engineer operated a steam locomotive as a team. The fireman managed the output of steam. His boiler had to respond to frequent changes in demand for power, as the train sped up, climbed hills, changed speeds, and stopped at stations. A skilled fireman anticipated changing demand as he fed coal to the firebox and water to the boiler. At the same time, the fireman was the “co-pilot” of the train who knew the signals, curves, and grade changes as well as the engineer.)

Casey was determined to make up the time, reaching a speed of 80 mph. About 4 a.m., when he had nearly made up all the time on the run, Casey rounded a corner near Vaughn, Mississippi, and saw a stalled freight train on the track and shouted for Sim to jump. Traveling about 50 mph at this point and about 100 feet from the train, Casey Jones sanded the track, threw the Johnson Bar in reverse, and set the air brakes. Sim Webb was uninjured, but Casey Jones rode the train out to the end. Popular legend holds that when he was pulled from the wreckage, he had one hand on the brake and one on the whistle chord. "I remember," Sim Webb told Casey's widow, "that as I jumped, Casey held down the whistle in a long, piercing scream. I think he must have had in mind to warn the freight conductor in the caboose so he could jump."

His dramatic death, trying to stop his train and save lives, made him a hero again. He was immortalized in a popular ballad sung by his friend Wallace Saunders, an engine wiper for the I.C.R.R. The Ballad of Casey Jones was performed by the Grateful Dead, who also wrote the song Casey Jones, which was first released on their album Workingman's Dead in 1970.

At one time or another, these were railroad laws or rules:

• West Virginia law required that if a railroad passed within one mile of a community with 100 or more people, then it was required to build a station and stop their regularly to pick up and drop off passengers.
• Texas law once said: When two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each train shall come to a full stop and neither train shall proceed until the other has gone. Huh??
• A New York City Ordinance prohibited the shooting of rabbits from the rear of a Third Avenue street car if it was in motion.   
• Putting salt on a railroad track in Alabama was once punishable by death.
• It is considered a misdemeanor offense to throw pickle juice at a trolley in Rhode Island.
• It is against the law for a railroad to remove itself from a town of more than five hundred people in South Carolina.
• In Washington state, a dog must have accompanied the cowcatcher to scare livestock from the tracks.
• In West Virginia, it was once illegal to sleep on a train.
• If you attack a train in Indiana, you're going to jail 
• It is illegal to place soap on railroad tracks in Mississippi. 
• In South Dakota, it is illegal to place firecrackers on railroad track. The fine doubles if they are lit. 
• In Wisconsin, it was once illegal to kiss on a rain.
• A Gary, Indiana ordinance once prohibited anyone from attending a theatre or riding on a public streetcar within four hours of eating garlic.

This post was definitely no "train wreck," but there's always next week! Let's watch the Brave Engineer in honor of brave Casey Jones.