The wreck of the Old 97
occurred on September 27, 1903, when the Southern Railway freight train called
the Fast Mail (or "Old 97") left the tracks and crashed at the Stillhouse
Trestle outside Danville,
Virginia, killing eleven people. The accident became a sensation, with thousands
of spectators at the scene, newspaper stories, and even a series of musical
ballads, the most popular of which became a hit on the country music charts in
1924.. . .
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