When the first steam boat was invented, little did its detractors realize that the discovery of the steam propulsion marked just the beginning of the transportation revolution. The introduction of the steam locomotive quickly followed, triggering the gigantic railroad boom that shaped American history. One of these steam hissing behemoths was the CANNONBALL EXPRESS, a fast train on the Illinois Railroad line made famous in folklore and song by an engineer who sat behind its throttle one memorable springtime day. His name was John Luther Jones, but they called him "Casey" after Cayce, Kentucky where his railroad career started. On April 30, 1900, as the CANNONBALL sped down the tracks on a particularly dangerous run from tennessee to Mississippi, a stationary frieght train suddenly loomed a few feet ahead. Ordering his fireman to jump, "Casey" breaked in time to save the life of every passenger on board, but not his own. Today a monument in Cayce, Kentucky immortalizes the heroic enginer- as does a balled to his praise, still sung lustily whenever railroad men get together.