Think About It

On September 27, 1903 Southern Railway 1102 (or the Fast Mail train) was running behind schedule. After leaving Washington D. C. on its way to Spencer, North Carolina, it was an hour late as it pulled into Monroe, Virginia. It was unacceptable for the Fast Mail train to run late, so they threw away good sense and cranked up the steam. The normal speed was about 39 miles per hour, but to close the gap in time the train would have to average at least 51 mph for the 166-mile stretch. When the train reached the Stillhouse Trestle it was going too fast to navigate the curve and ended up in the ravine below killing eleven people. In today’s world of mass causalities this wreck might not make much of a headline, but at the turn of the 20th Century this story would become a national event etched in our memories in the old folk song, “Wreck of the Old 97”. I have been fascinated by the song for a long time, but when I recently learned of the historical background for the tune it reinforc