Wade Calcutt, age 11, of Pamplico, S.C., for his question:

WHO WAS CASEY JONES?

Casey Jones was a brave railroad engineer who gave his life to save the lives of his passengers and crew. A song was written about him which immortalized the skill, courage and drama of railroading.

He was born John Luther Jones in Cayce, Ky., in 1864. On the night of April 29, 1900, he brought the Illinois Central's fast mail train, the New Orleans to Chicago "Cannonball," into Memphis, Tenn. He volunteered to run the southbound train when he heard the engineer was ill. Then, early the next morning, though no fault of his own, Casey Jones' Engine 382 hit the rear of two freight trains protruding from a sliding at Vaughan, Miss.

Casey Jones was found in the wreckage with one hand on the throttle and the other on the airbrake lever. If he had not stayed in the engine to put on the brakes, the crash would have been worse.