U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 30

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 30

WASHINGTON, April 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

THURSDAY, APRIL 30: THE LEGENDARY CASEY JONES

Profile America -- Thursday, April 30th. One of the most famous train wrecks in U.S. history occurred in the early morning hours of this day in 1900 at Vaughn, Mississippi. The engineer of the train was John Luther Jones, far better known as Casey Jones. Working overtime to fill in for a sick colleague, Jones was rushing to make up lost time when he hit the end of a train sticking out of a siding in early morning fog. The accident sparked one of the best known folk ballads in American history. At the time of Casey Jones' death, there were about 38,000 locomotives and nearly 260,000 miles of track in the U.S. Today, there are some 24,000 locomotives, operating on 120,000 of track. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 728

Statistical Abstract 2009, t. 1080

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/ (look under the "Newsroom" button).

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO
PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

CONTACT: Rick Reed of the U.S. Census Bureau, +1-301-763-2812, fax:
+1-301-763-3762, Richard.Thomas.Reed-at-census.gov

Web Site: http://www.census.gov/

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