I grew up in the '50s and '60s and even back then knew about "The Ballad of 'Casey' Jones" and the legend behind it. The song tells of a railroad engineer, John Luther 'Casey' Jones, who when trying to make up for lost time, stayed at the controls of his speeding Cannonball even when he noticed a stopped train ahead of him. Casey made a gallant attempt to apply the brakes and urged his fireman, Sim Webb, to jump to safety. Casey reversed the throttle, put on the brakes and reduced the trains speed by approx 40mph and in the ensuing collision, Casey was the only fatality. Debate still lingers as to whether or not Casey was at fault for the accident but his name survives today as a legend among railroad men. Here's the post card featuring the stamp honoring Casey. Enjoy!
