Old 97 had a reputation for speed but was 52 minutes behind schedule this day. Earlier that morning, Old 97 had been held up for an hour in Washington, waiting on a late mail train from the north.
Engine No. 1102, a ten-wheeler, pulled the train. In railroad jargon,
that is a 4-6-0 Baldwin Class F-14 locomotive. It weighed 160,000
pounds and had a wooden cab. The train consisted of two postal
cars, an express car and one baggage car. It had an average speed
of 37 1/2 mph, running between Washington and Atlanta, including stops and slowing down for catch stations. Its top speed had been recorded at 90 mph.
Engineer |
Conductor John Thomas Blair Mar. 26, 1866 - Sept. 27, 1903 |
Fireman Albion "Buddy" Clapp Sept. 9, 1870 - Sept. 27, 1903 |
Flagman James Robert Moody Feb. 4, 1873 - Sept. 27, 1903 |
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Because Old 97 was
late
pulling
into
Monroe, the
regular
crew
had been
dispatched to
another
train.
Joseph "Steve"
Broady
of Saltville,
Va.,
got the
assignment as
the
train engineer on
Old 97. Others on the
five-man crew were:
Conductor Thomas Blair
of Spencer; Fireman
Albion Clapp
of
Gibsonville, N.C.;
Apprentice
Fireman
John Hodge of Raleigh,
N.C.; Brakeman James
Mooney, also of Raleigh.
| The train by which everyone set their timepieces was very late. Normally, the train would cross the Still House trestle at exactly 1:50. At 2:42 p.m., Old 97, at the end of a three- mile downgrade from White Oak Mountain, it approached Still House trestle running flat out. |
| Engineer
Broady tried to
slow
the train, but it
was too late. He
took the
curve
throwing 80 tons of iron against the flanges on the outside wheels that were hanging onto the track. As the flange on one wheel broke off, the mail train jumped the track, riding the cross ties for about 80 feet and then dropping abruptly, smashing into the corner of
the mill and ending right side up in the muddy ravine of
seven crates of canaries were in the
bagage car and busted releasing about 100 Yellow Canaries to fluttered above the wreckage. |
| Southern Railway's accident report estimated Old 97's speed at 55 mph. (About 2 miles before entering the trestle, a sign warned, TRESTLE AHEAD, SPEED LIMIT 10 MPH). The drive wheels on thelocomotive had been reversed, indicating Broady had made a desperate effort to slow or stop the train. | |
