Wreck of the Old 97

The wreck of Old 97 at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia, 1903. The photograph is believed to have been taken a few days after the occurrence of the wreck, as the locomotive, which had overturned, has been righted.

The "Old 97", a Southern Railway train officially known as the Fast Mail, was en route from Monroe, Virginia to Spencer, North Carolina when it left the track at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia on September 27, 1903. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a convoluted copyright lawsuit.

The wreck

The wreck of Old 97 occurred when the engineer (driver), Joseph A. ("Steve") Broadey, at the controls of engine number 1102 (a ten wheeler built by Baldwin), 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 pressure at its maximum so the train would not lose too much speed on ascending grades.^[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 (62.4 km/h). 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 and tight radius 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 and plunge into the ravine below. Nine people were killed, including the locomotive crew and a number of clerks in the mail car 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 to haul mail (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

The wreck of the Old 97 served as inspiration for balladeers, the most famous being the ballad first recorded commercially by Virginia musicians G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter^[2]. Vernon Dalhart'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, Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Chuck Ragan, Hank Williams III, Patrick Sky, Nine Pound Hammer, Boxcar Willie, Lonnie Donegan, The Seekers, Bert Southwood, Ernest Stoneman & Kahle Brewer, and Hank Snow, as well as Portland, Maine Celtic punk band The Pubcrawlers. The Texas band Old 97's 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, resulting in the version performed by Dalhart.[2]

In 1927 it was claimed that the actual author 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, 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 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 had to the Communist Party. 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", the mockumentary film from Christopher Guest. The reference seems to be a tribute to the ballad, although the wreck described in "Blood On The Coal" is different from the actual one.

In the movie "The Blues Brothers" 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

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
• audio and label of release on Herwin Records label

Coordinates: 36°35′44″N 79°23′34″W / 36.59556°N 79.39278°W / 36.59556; -79.39278