The Wreck of Old 97
🚂 The Wreck of Old 97 — Danville, Virginia, 1903
📍 North America » United States » Virginia » Danville
🗓️ Year: 1903
This haunting image captures the aftermath of one of the most famous train disasters in American history: The Wreck of Old 97, which occurred on September 27, 1903 near Danville, Virginia. Known as the "Fast Mail", Southern Railway train No. 97 was running behind schedule when it derailed while crossing the Stillhouse Trestle, plunging into the ravine below.
The wreck killed 11 people, most of them crew members, and shocked the nation. The event became legendary—not only for its scale, but because it inspired one of the earliest and most iconic American train ballads, immortalizing the tragedy in folk music and storytelling.
In the photo, dozens of townspeople and rescue workers scramble among the mangled steel and shattered timbers, a testament to both the fragility of human engineering and the communal response in times of disaster.
📸 Do you have photos tied to early 20th-century transportation, industrial history, or American folklore?
Upload them to OldPik.com and help keep these stories alive through images.
🏷️ #WreckOfOld97 #Danville #TrainDisasters #VirginiaHistory #1903 #AmericanRailways #OldPhotos #IndustrialHeritage #OldPik
📍 North America » United States » Virginia » Danville
🗓️ Year: 1903
This haunting image captures the aftermath of one of the most famous train disasters in American history: The Wreck of Old 97, which occurred on September 27, 1903 near Danville, Virginia. Known as the "Fast Mail", Southern Railway train No. 97 was running behind schedule when it derailed while crossing the Stillhouse Trestle, plunging into the ravine below.
The wreck killed 11 people, most of them crew members, and shocked the nation. The event became legendary—not only for its scale, but because it inspired one of the earliest and most iconic American train ballads, immortalizing the tragedy in folk music and storytelling.
In the photo, dozens of townspeople and rescue workers scramble among the mangled steel and shattered timbers, a testament to both the fragility of human engineering and the communal response in times of disaster.
📸 Do you have photos tied to early 20th-century transportation, industrial history, or American folklore?
Upload them to OldPik.com and help keep these stories alive through images.
🏷️ #WreckOfOld97 #Danville #TrainDisasters #VirginiaHistory #1903 #AmericanRailways #OldPhotos #IndustrialHeritage #OldPik
Contributed by OldPik on September 1, 2024
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