Casey Jones Village, Jackson, Tennessee - Monday, April 8, 2019

Today is scheduled to be a long driving day. We're moving from EZ Daze RV Park in Southaven, Mississippi, to Seven Points Army Corps of Engineers (COE) Campground at J. Percy Priest Lake outside Nashville.

As with any long driving day, we needed a stop to get out, stretch, and eat lunch. Bob loves railroad history, so we chose Casey Jones Village in Jackson, Tennessee as our stopping point. It's just a couple of blocks off of I-40 and there is some RV parking in a gravel lot.

In case you can't find it, look for
the red caboose on stilts.

We like the name of this route.

An old passenger car (used for storage).

The museum was supposed to open at 10:00 a.m. and we arrived at 11. The doors were locked. We peered in the front door but didn't see anyone there. Another couple came up who wanted to go in as well. We rattled the doors and started to walk away. Just then, a lady opened the door and apologized profusely. She had been working in her office and forgot to unlock the front door. She thought it had been awfully quiet in the museum.

We paid our admission and went into the theater to watch the movie about the fateful, frightful accident between a passenger train and a freight train which wasn't able to move all its cars off the main line of the track.

John Luther "Casey" Jones was born in Kentucky or Missouri, no one is exactly sure. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be an engineer for the railroad. At age 15, he ran away from home and went to work as a telegraph operator for the railroad. It wasn't long before he worked his way up to fireman.

Eventually, he did achieve his goal of becoming a railroad engineer. He worked in that capacity for many years with an excellent safety record as well as maintaining an on-time reputation. 

One day, he had a very demanding schedule for his passenger train and was running behind. His train was cranked up to 75 mph to make up time. He had almost made up time when his fateful accident occurred. 

He had no way of knowing that a freight train caboose and three cars were stuck on the mainline track because another train on the siding was broken down and couldn't move. He could not see the train on the track ahead. When he came around the corner and saw the train blocking the track, it was too late to come to a complete stop.

He slammed on the brakes, wheels screamed in protest. His fireman was instructed to jump out of the train, which he did. Casey Jones took that 75 mph train down to 35 mph before it crashed, but in order to do that, he had to stay in the engine. His train collided with the freight train cars. He was the only casualty. That day, Casey Jones became a hero by saving the lives of everyone on his passenger train. Fireman Webb was so appreciative, he made sure to tell everyone about how heroic Casey Jones had been.

An artist's rendering of the horrible accident.

Casey Jones has been memorialized in song, newspaper and magazine articles, in this museum, in artwork, and with many train-related memorabilia. 

Train engines Casey Jones drove.

The museum is not limited to the story of Casey Jones. There is a great exhibit on "Railroads and the Civil War in Tennessee." Bob and I enjoyed reading the strategies and stories related to the Union taking control of the railroad. That helped the Union win the war by cutting off supply lines for ammunition, weapons, food, and troops. A lot of the railroad lines were also destroyed. 

We went outside to climb aboard the train. The Jones' house (where he was living before he died) was moved to this site and you can tour that as well. 

Bob entering the Jones' house.

After the museum, we were going to eat at The Old County Store & Restaurant. We went inside and looked around, decided we didn't want a buffet or deep-fried food, and we walked over to eat at Waffle House instead. Good choice. We were very happy with our meal.

Around 5:00 p.m., we arrived at Seven Points COE campground. I had picked Site 12 as it was one of the only sites left when I booked. One-and-a-half hours and six people later, another camper finally finagled our 5th wheel into our site. The site was huge (110' long); however, the photo of the site online did not show the ditches, and low rock walls on both sides of our driveway and the site across from us where we had to try to maneuver our 5th wheel. Also, the road was narrow and the edges of the road were not "feathered" gently to allow turning. There was a drop-off on both sides of the park road. It was not fun! If you have a combination of truck and trailer with a long turn radius, do NOT try to put your trailer in this site unless they fix the entry area to it!!

By the time our 5th wheel was on the site, it was almost dark. The end of the day was very stressful. I can now understand why no one had booked that site.

The park is quite beautiful, though, so we were happy for all the trees and space. We could finally relax. And that is all for today.