'The Wreck of the Old 97' is a ballad inspired by a train wreck that occurred on September 27, 1903. The train was the Fast Mail, train number 97 of the Southern Railway Line. The train was on its way to Spencer, North Carolina, and the engineer (Steve Broady) was told to get there as fast as possible, because the train was about an hour behind, and the rail line lost money for every minute the train was late. In an attempt to make up an hour over the course of 166 miles, Broady was operating the train at an average speed of 51 mph, when a safe average speed would have been 39 mph. On his route from Monroe, Virginia to Spencer, North Carolina, there were a lot of steep grades and tight curves, and one of the steeper grades ended in a sharp curve leading into Stillhouse Trestle, a 45 foot high bridge. He was unable to slow the train down, and it derailed, shooting into the ravine below. There were 18 men on board, and eleven of them passed away, with the other seven being injured. The Southern Railway placed all the blame on Broady, who died on impact, and denied that they told him to go as fast as possible. The wreck inspired the song 'Wreck of the Old '97', which has been recorded many times since then.
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