The Wreck of the Old 97

The cause and aftermath of the horrific railway disaster, examined by an award-winning historian. With Fast Mail train No. 97 an hour behind schedule, locomotive engineer Steve Broady, according to legend, swore to “put her in Spencer on time” or “put her in Hell.” Through eyewitness reports and court testimonies, historian Larry Aaron expertly pieces together the events of September 27, 1903, at Danville, Virginia, when the Old 97 plummeted off a forty-five-foot trestle into the ravine below. W