Boxcar Willie - The Wreck of old 97

[killsalive1]

The pic at 1:40 is of the NP on the western side of Lookout Pass. An avalanche took out the trestle and the train went over without warning. "Somewhere" I have the book and the story about it.

[arinvests]

Great song by Box Car,A real Gent,RIP. ~ Arthur

[therogmd1]

great job box should not change the words to suit you

[Rogermiler]

I thought that picture at 1:12 WAS the wreck of the 97.......

[juliusengel]

@Rogermiler It is.

[cierramonkey1]

@Rogermiler the picture at 1:12 is of ole 97

[MrTimotheus85]

Thanks for posting this video, I never get tired of listening to Boxcar Willie And thanks to you, I'm going on a train ride with Boxcar Willie

[SAXRTProductions]

I have personally been to the accident site. Let me tell you,it's still chilling today. Some where in my collection I have the lyrics and news paper clippings of the wreck. This was truly a sad day in rail road history.

[likitty20]

1:11 is the real picture of the wreck of old 97

[BrokenneckYgor]

That wreck is a disgrace to the profession!---Casey Jones

[matttatts]

nine pound hammer does a rad version of this tune :^)

[KJNott1]

He may be gone but the man knows he could SING.

[Railroadingfarmer001]

@KJNott1 agreed

[frozenhell98]

Thanks for posting!

[shaneh1983]

awsome cover

[ironkatia]

Great artist to bad he was all about the image and never even road a freight train.

[highnrising]

@ironkatia Why is that too bad?

[ewd76]

David Graves George, who may have(but probably didn't) written this song is my second cousin 5 times removed.

[bobu46]

My beloved hobo "Boxcar Willie" - R.I.P.

[williamjamesneaves]

loved the Grand Funk carage i wonder if they knew , and the story said it was taken from the Grand Trunk Railway and somebody crossed out the Tr and put in the F , ?

[Dinosorable]

The crash at 1:11 is old 97.

[coolanddark]

Such a great old folk song! Well done! Nice pictures!

[AllTheCloudsArePink]

Ohah. My granpa, the train engineer. He wrote a book about it "Railroading on the Illinois Central" by Winford L Green. We lost him last Christmas. I was his only grandchild, named after his mother. He dedicated the book in part to me. "His loving grandaughter". Thanks for this.

[shaneh1983]

great cover

[sti4fun]

The picture at about 1:40 is a picture of the "S" bridge wreck of February 10, 1903. A great rotary snowplow of the NP road, operating between Wallace, Idaho and Saltese over the Bitter Root mountains had become stalled in the snow and was attempting to work its way back to Wallace. Shortly after 7 o'clock a snow slide carried away the foundation of the upper end of the "S" bridge. The engine and caboose plunged into the chasm below, a fall of 80 feet, onto 30 ft of snow.

[MON383]

0:45 i count 4 pullin n one pushin?? how much grunt does one need?

[EireWhiskey]

Anyone think it quare that at 1.03 theres a carraige turned over with 666 on the side of it???



[briangg57]

I can;t believe it, I just bought Boxcar's guitar and stage costume complete with the hat and pins and his guitar case from his son, Larry!!! The stuff I got belongs in a museum. R.I.P. Boxcar.

[Tellgryn]

@briangg57 yes it does, Boxcar brought back for many the old railroad song.

[rolypolyable]

@prudentame the wreck happened in my hometown i think it was 1903 my grandfather was one of the first on the scene and he said that he is probably somewhere in the pic he died in 1958 @ 84 so he was probably in his thirty's. the engineer is buried in Saltville, Virginia my dad used to sing this song to me when i was little.

[mischelle321968]

The picture at 1:11 is actually Engine #1102 (OLD 97) that had been righted a day or so later.

[theoriginalbadbob]

Box had so much talent, he should have been a superstar. I got to see him a bunch of times in the Cabaret, at Harrah's Hotel & Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. 60 minute show, 2 drinks, 5 bucks. That was, definitely, the "good old days."

[BigCowboy1963]

Einfach cool  - Thanks

[Liamautomechanic]

if thats not old 97 my aunt fanny is a tin soilder?????????

[VIGILANTI1]

i did not know they made a soung about my first wife. the wreck of the old 97

[TownBranchDandy]

97 was headed to the Spencer Shops, in Spencer, NC

[bkrioof]

I am sending this out to all of my Sisters 1st its a great song 2nd by a great musician and singer BOXCAR WILLIE I have seen a few times. 3rd you have to love the choo choo. you go girls :} Always yours in FLT

[gotham23us]

It's good but it doesn't compare to Woody Guthrie's version.

[DammitDrag]

And yes @ 1:11 that is the wreck of the Southern 97

[DammitDrag]

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.

[bren1231001]

Like this

[southern4501isawesom]

box car willie puts all six of my whistle imatations to shame... =( he is gone but not forgotten damn it he went to soon i wanted to learn how he blows like that damn just listen to that whistle that gave me chills R.I.P. boxcar willie and ol' SOUTHERN 97 both gone way to soon =(

[mysweetzoe]

yeah... great version. i am not 100 percent but almost shure that at 1:11 it is the wreck of the ol 97

[railbaron1]

Yes it is. 11 died, IC's #1, another famed train wreck, had 10 less cassualties when she rear ended a fright outside of Vaughan, Mississippi.

[SwampDaddy7]

#1? You mean the Cannonball, railbaron? That's Casey's Train . . . yeah, THAT Casey.

[mission2marsden]

The picture at 1:16 looks similar to a picture I saw on a Mr. Big album. Lean Into It, I think it was called. :)

[5000TRAINS]

Boxcar's legend will never die

[strollby]

thanks

[Grifiki]

Every song deserves a Singer. This one belongs to Boxcar Winger!

[steeroth93]

@Grifiki hank snow ?

[PaulisWilliam]

@Grifiki Or Johnny Cash or most of all Hank Snow.... I like Johnny's And Hank's version better...

[4freespeech]

Memories of my friend Ona Arthur Knotts, an old-time steam locomotive engineer who had a million stories from his life of 40+ years in the cab, first as fireman then engineer. As a young man I'd visit him at the "yard office" for coffee, (it was an old pullman car with a coal stove) and he'd ride me down to the water tank in the cab to fill the tender for his next run, showing me how a steam engine worked. Wish you younger folks could do things like that! Ona liked this song. Thanks!

[ShabogamoLakeRider]

@4freespeech

I wish too. But you know people today...Everythings dangerous. Sheesh...

[caseyjonesfan]

im still learning but i practicly alredy know how to drive one.

[Gsquid5]

alsome very good

[lb7349]

to bad nashville has closed it's doors

no more songs like this this is realmusic

[dillicus]

Brilliant. Have most of is songs

[coolanddark]

Great old folk song sung by My ol mans fav singer. great video

[songstoremember]

I am so very happy and grateful to have found this song as it brings back such wonderful memories of my Dad singing it to me as a little girl, to express my gratitude in words is not possible. If anyone has information on another song which I recall being titled " On A Cold Winters Night" I would enjoy hearing it again also. Thanks

[CGiordano464]

wasnt 97 a yosemite valley train

[hayseed6969]

i worked for csx,,,,that was the worst managed company i have ever worked for,,,i am back to being a police officer

[SeriosProductions]

Ol' 97 is the slide at 1:12

[PetrusRuppert]

It sure is!

[KLAMATH60]

Great Music! My Dad was 38 years Southern Pacific out of Southern Oregon, I remember his stories. Too bad we don't have cabooses any more for the little people to see and love!

[analogyman]

I like the way this version starts with a measure from "The Orange Blossom Special"--so why do these gory stories have such perky, happy melodies??

[brandonhornsby]

Great video matched with great music.

Thanks for sharing this with us all. Wish I could give more then 5 stars!

[HansJoachim1956]

Very nice. The good old days. Images and Music are perfect. My compliments.

[paul4631]

lad thats him makeing the noise

[PRR4000]

Heh! It sounds like they used a New Haven 6-chime whistle for the whistle sounds in this video, used by the only current operating steam engine #97, a consolidation in Essex, CT, working on the Valley Railroad today. What a couinsidence!

[siphra]

I have seen a video of him do it live, sounds pretty much the same, and I think, could be wrong, but I think that boxcar does that himself.

[cjw10987]

The sound is being made by Box Car Willie himself without anything other than a microphone

[Sarge679]

no wonder the train at 1:03 wrecked, the tender number is 666. lol

[757chesapeake]

Thanks a lot your answer to my problem did the trick, it has solved everything. Thanks again.

[757chesapeake]

I have been using You Tube to play Box Car Willie and the wreck of the old 97, but

now all I get is an error has occured try again later. I have don this quite afew times how do I correct this error? Thanks

[20bladerunner94]

love this song!

[Railroadingfarmer001]

valdupaval-correct. I believe that lady ws selling newspapers and was killed by the parts of the wall that fell to the street.

[jakeisadane]

very nice

[Steacy783]

Great photos ! They almost outshine the song ! Thnkx4post !

[Deadlymover1976]

My dad use to play this song I love it . You can learn so much from history some how nothings new its all being done before. Thank you for posting.

[jodthy106]

funny yah.

[maddennis55]

Great old photos! I know a couple. :25 is the meeting of the rails at Promontory Point, Utah (UP meets CP) in May of 1869.

1:39 is in north Idaho. Feb. 1903, this 'S' curved trestle collapsed under the last cars of a Northern Pacific snow plow train. My info at hand reports a loco and caboose fell about 80 feet, and of 8 men involved, no one killed.

[BustopherJones1]

Can someone please explain the train wreck at 1:16 ? When does a train get to be on a building like that? I understand falling out but how does it get up there in the first place (a ramp would be to obvious don't you think?)

[badboyonabigbike]

The station appears to be built on a hillside. I believe that my grandpa showed me a picture of this when I was a kid. I could be wrong but I think that they had a giant turntable up there to turn the engines around. Something must have gone very wrong in the process.

[maddennis55]

It appears that street level is below track level. The train didn't stop, and crashed thru the station front.

[barondesena]

Hi Bustopher,

I think this was in London England the engine went into the track bumper on the platform, out the station wall and landed in the street. i don't think anyone was hurt but may be wrong.

[valdupaval]

Hi,

it was in Paris, Gare Montparnasse, in 1895, 22nd of October. it is well known in France. Just one person was killed, a woman who was in the street below.

[gaycowboy31]

I am glad someone cleared that up you are in fact correct I was just in Paris a few weeks ago and touring the differnt train depots there I asked the guy I was doing the tour with if it was a true fact of this picture and he did confirm that it did in fact happen I wasnt sure it was real untill that day

[grannydyess]

he was a great snger

[PreacherSly]

Thank you for sharing with us, easy that you like men.

[PreacherSly]

maybe it was a woman....wish they'd learn to paralell park. LOL

[amerikanerMarinen]

You're asking for a little too much there friend hahah

[Rockhound6165]

This is the song the Blues Brothers didn't know while playing Bob's Country Bunker.

[SystemOfAPantera]

at 1:04 the rail car says Grand Funk

[awolfpack343]

no it says Grand Truck  Grand Funk is a band

[PreacherSly]

What's with the train hanging out of the upper story window??

[mikethefoto]

Preachersly,

Woman driver!!!

[Steamer15hp]

Woman drivers are worse!

[icrails]

pics at 1:12 to 1: 14 are of the real wreck of old 97. Stillhouse trestle in Virginia.

[snowyseal00]

My brother George talked about another story our Grandfather Willy from Generations i saw the (bids) on paper of long ago.

[papibuddy]

Great job you brought a lot more to the music with the pictures. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[srvfan454]

beautiful historic pics, i love trains and old depot buildings!

[helgaliesbeth]

sehr gut. Ich bin ein großer Fan!!

[bigboy4016]

1:07 sketchy, cuz noy only is it 666, its a crash

[Hispanoturk]

look u 2 my comment

[amerikanerMarinen]

Old 97, ole Danville, Virginia.

[JoDilCameoDusty]

hahahahahaaskfajhiuwrasdhnvkja­sndjkcnajsnhdryacvsueyraisdf boxcar is dead

[nisimonco]

hoodpijn????

[CarlSchwamberger]

1:15 seems to be the same wreck as 1:38, from the opposite side. The building looks like a freight or passenger depot in a large city. I cant read the signs.

[Cojpe]

It is same wreck.

Picture was taken 22 October 1895 by unknown photgrapher at Montparnasse, Paris, France.

Its very well known train wreck photo.

Anyway, I believe JoDilCameoDusty asked about 1:38 picture, it is slide right after 1:38 with collapsed bridge on it.

[CarlSchwamberger]

Thanks for identifying the Montparnasse photo.

1:38 on my screen matches that one on my screen, so I thought thats what the question was directed at.

[Cojpe]

maybe it is:)

[gaycowboy31]

Paris France

[Pudentame]

@CarlSchwamberger

In case anyone is interested, the actual Wreck of the Old 97 is the image shown at 1:11

[JoDilCameoDusty]

HAHAHAHA BOXCAR DIED!!! WTF who names their kid frickin Boxcar?! I thought his name was Willie!! Willie Nelson? Wtf - who is Willie Nelson!

[derfuher00]

ur a fucking tard boxcar willie is his nick name

[twister8586]

1:11 picture: The wreck of 97. This was taken days after the crash. The locomotive has been righted.

[thomasandtencents1]

yea but is engine 97 still there?

[JoDilCameoDusty]

pretty sweet song

[silversteinrocker]

hes pretty good he has good vocals and he is hot

[emmeressen]

1:38 picture:I dont even wanna know what happened there.

[trainlover657]

wow ur right O_o

[JoDilCameoDusty]

1:38 picture:What happened there?

[CarlSchwamberger]

Looks like the tracks were elevated & the engine did not brake. Ran through the wall & maybe the building. The building may have been the passenger station or a freight depot. I'm not sure. 

Elevated tracks in the city were common a century ago as low budget alternative to subways.

[EasyBakeBomb]

Anybody else wanna tell me what happened?

...Fag...Jesus....

~!*Still Fly*!~

[Cojpe]

It was taken February 10, 1903, "S" Bridge, (an 839 foot sinuous trestle) betwen Saltese, Montana, and Wallace, Idaho.

[majesticno1]

Re Hendrixkid1970, My Own thoughts is Box Car Willie Was better than johnny cash he had a better voice by far for Country Box Car is In my top 3 of Country singers of all time. R.I.P. BoxCar Willie.

[1989k1947]

He was so talented...RIP Boxcar, your friend, Judy

[HendrixKid1970]

You say hes got a nice clarity, which he has. But, in my opinion Johnny Cash had the best country voice of all time. Boxcars up there, but Johnny Cash was also one of the best songwriters in country AND of all time. But, again. Boxcars up there.

P.S When did this come out?

[shubus]

Boxcar gave us much great music and many great performances. His clarity is legendary. By the way, never saw such neat train wreck pix! Luv you, Boxcar!

[adminbgb]

God rest Boxcar

[farmersboy1]

love this song R.I.P boxcar

[Whitelightng]

God Bless Box!

[usmc6674]

R I P you brought joy to so many. now you can play for the angles. you are gone but you still live on.

Rev.J.C.B.

[lapierre002]

R.I.P

[DammitDrag]

Rest in peace Box.

[1968IH]

Boxcar does this song the best

[soccercleatscrush]

Really great!

[rwl658]

My grandpa played fiddle in a 'hillbilly band', and this is one song that was always in demand. Thanks for the memories!

[jameselmer77]

Very close to what my mother sang. I have not heard this song for about 40 years. Thank you. I am James Elmer :-)

[thedarkknightt]

Good job...

Was looking for this by Boxcar!

[boats752]

classic

[ghost8976]

nice