The Wreck of the Old 97

The Wreck of the Old 97. . , Near here on September 27, 1903, the Southern Railroad's southbound mail express train, No. 97 traveling from Washington to Atlanta, careened from a curved, wooden trestle and crashed into Still House Creek 45 feet below. Excessive speed was blamed for the disaster. The ill-fated train consistently averaged 40 miles per hour on its 640 mile trip. Just before 3 p.m. on that peaceful Sunday afternoon, "Old 97" was running one hour behind time when it approached Still House Trestle at a high rate of speed. Eyewitnesses' estimates of the train's speed varied from thirty-five to eighty miles per hour. After the train came to rest and the dust settled, hundreds of canaries circled the wreckage singing merrily, having escaped the confinement of their cages in the baggage car., Train No. 97, pulled by Locomotive No. 1102, consisted of two postal cars, an express car, one baggage car and a crew of eighteen. Of those eighteen crew members, eleven men died in the crash and six sustained injuries. Only one crew member escaped injury., This railroad accident would be little known today had it not been for the ballad that immortalized the wreck. Several individuals claimed authorship of the song that used the tune based on the old song, "The Ship That Never Returned." In 1924, Vernon Dalhart's version of the song sold more than 6,000,000 records, making it the first country music song to sell more than a million copies., Four days after the wreck, a temporary spur line was laid to haul the engine from the ravine. Towed to the Southern Railroad shops in Spencer, North Carolina, Engine 1102 was rebuilt and remained in service until 1930 when it was scrapped., Historical text provided by F Lawrence McFall, Jr. , Photos courtesy of of Danny Ricketts. . Layout and design by Kim Demont (formerly Vaden and Associates). , A project of the City of Danville. . Plaque production sponsored by The Danville Riverview Rotary Club.