Railroad Remnants Fade Into History
A salvage worker from Moneymaker Contractors, Inc., of Byhalia wades in O’Tuckalofa Creek as the railroad bridge is dismantled. The structure is believed to be one of three that spanned the creek at that point over the 130-year presence of the railroad in Water Valley. – Photo by Jack Gurner
Jack Gurner, Sr., Curator of the Water Valley Casey Jones Railroad Museum, displays the 1880 charter for Division 99 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. It returned to Water Valley in 2002 from the museum at Vaughan. – Photo by Jack Gurner
If you would like to know more about the Casey Jones story, visit the Water Valley Casey Jones Museum website.
By Jack Gurner
Reporter
WATER VALLEY – On the eve of the 110th anniversary of the fabled Casey Jones wreck, the last reminders of the railroad’s 130-year presence in this city are rapidly disappearing.
Just last Friday the railroad bridge over O’tuckalofa creek was being dismantled by a salvage crew from Moneymaker Contractors, Inc. of Byhalia. A worker on the site said the bridge had deteriorated to the point that it had become dangerous.
A small piece of the bridge will join other memorabilia from the city’s rich railroad past in the Water Valley Casey Jones Railroad Museum that is located in the old Illinois Central depot building downtown.
The purpose of the museum is to preserve the area’s railroad history. The project began in 1985 when members of the Water Valley Lions Club and city officials reached an agreement giving the club a ten year lease on the building. The depot was deteriorating after rail service was discontinued.
In the years since, the museum has seen a number of improvements and additions to its collection. In 1988, a caboose was obtained from the IC and in 1997, the Yalobusha Economic Development Foundation purchased the Bruce Gurner collection of railroad memorabilia.
The Casey Jones Museum at the Vaughan wreck site was closed in 2002 and the state moved most of that collection to Water Valley. Among the items from Vaughan are the damaged bell from the wreck engine, the charter for Water Valley’s Division 99 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and the original Water Valley Fireman’s lodge composite photograph that included Jones.
Visitors often ask why a museum bearing the Casey Jones name is located in Water Valley. Many have heard that he lived in Jackson, Tenn., and was working out of Memphis when the wreck occurred on April 30, 1900.
Jones had only been on the Memphis passenger run for a little over three months when he wrecked at Vaughan. He had worked out of Water Valley for 12 years, from 1888 until January of 1900, when he was able to get the Memphis to Canton fast passenger run.
Even then he was still a Water Valley District engineer and a member of Division 99 of the BLE at Water Valley when he took the job in Memphis, said Jack Gurner, Sr, curator of the museum. Jones even lived in Water Valley for several years before moving back to Jackson, Tenn., his wife’s hometown.
Jones probably wouldn’t recognize Water Valley as the bustling railroad town in was when he moved to the Mississippi Division of the Illinois Central Railroad. The city was headquarters for the Division and more than 20 trains a day passed through filled with freight and passengers.
But, there aren’t any more trains. The last whistle – or more accurately, the last air horn – blew in 1982 when the Illinois Central abandoned the Water Valley District.
‘Stolen’ Charter Comes Full Circle, Hangs In Town’s Railroad Museum
By Jack Gurner
Reporter
WATER VALLEY – Casey Jones was a member of Water Valley’s Division 99 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, now known as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. According to the BLET archives, Division 99 was originally founded in 1869.
The BLET itself was founded as the Brotherhood of the Footboard in 1863, making it the oldest labor union in the Western Hemisphere. It was only six-years-old when Water Valley’s Division was founded.
Information from the BLET archives indicates that the charter was surrendered in 1874. The late Bruce Gurner had said the reason was probably because of pressure from railroad management and local officials. There had been labor unrest as a result of the union activities and it didn’t look good for the town.
There was also a period of econnomic depressio during the mid 1870s.
The local Division was re-formed and a new charter granted in 1880. An article in the BLET magazine said that a duplicate charter was issued in 1978 after the 1880 charter was stolen.
Gurner didn’t consider the charter actually stolen. He told the story of how the charter disappeared from Water Valley when a railroad fan passed through town and saw both the charter and the photograph of Casey Jones and his fellow lodge members hanging in a local business.
According to Gurner, the man bought the two items from the businessman and left town. Eventually they were passed along to the state run museum at Vaughan. When the Vaughan museum closed in 2002, they were returned to Water Valley and now hang in the Water Valley Casey Jones Railroad Museum.
As for Division 99 itself, it was merged in December of 2008 with Division 23 located in Southaven because there were less than 12 active members.
But, Division 99 will not disappear completely because of it historic connection to Casey Jones, according to BLET officials. It will remain as a “de jure’ division and retired members will be allowed to remain associated with it.
