Wreck of the Evening Mail

Wreck of the Evening Mail

In 1935 three coal cars broke out of a siding near Springhill, Nova Scotia and coasted down the grade into the face of a passenger train, the westbound Ocean Limited. In the ensuing crash the engineer and mail clerk were killed but, by a miracle, the fireman escaped. Hobos riding the blinds were also killed when the passenger cars derailed and tumbled down an embankment. Don Miller, a long-time railroad worker and fine singer from Nova Scotia, collected the words of this song in 1936. He later added a tune based on "The Wreck of the Royal Palm."

More information: Canadian Folk Music Bulletin, 1982, 16(4), 20-21. Click HERE to see more background on this song.

(Tim: vocal, guitar; Grit: whistle, concertina)

This story friends is sad to tell, 'twill fill your heart with pain
To see those burning, mangled souls that lay beneath that train
'Twas there at Springhill Junction Yard, men laboured hard in vain
To watch the cars that broke away toward the evening train.

Just two miles east the Junction Point, 'twas there the crash took place
As the Evening Mail from Halifax, those speeding cars did trace
The last words that the driver spoke, when danger heads so high
He cried out to his fireman, "Old pal, we soon must die."

The fireman escaped from death, you'd think he'd lose his mind
Returning to the burning cars, his comrades there did find
The express car was in flames, the mail clerk trapped inside
No way to escape from death, within the car he died.

To face death just like those brave men, 'twould make one's mind go blank
No warning like the Master's Call, the train rolled down the bank
And many boys were tresapssing, by riding on the blinds
When the train crash came they met their fate leaving loved ones behind.

The passengers who were on board this train wreck did survive
Some taken to the hospital, with care they will survive
This song of warning railroad men about the work you do
For many souls aboard the train, their lives depend on you.

My story now I'll have to end, it fills my heart with woe
To write the fate of those brave boys, the way they had to go
It's not the value of the train nor what the dangers cost
But wives and children left alone to weep and mourn the loss.

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About The Wreck of the Evening Mail

When he sent me this song, Don Miller wrote the following:

As far as I know this song was never published and I do not know who wrote it, but I have had in my collection since 1936 and will list all the details on it. The wreck took place at Springhill Junction in 1935 when 3 coal cars broke out of the siding and came down the grade in the face of the Ocean Limited, Train No. 4, Engine 6102. An engine went after the three cars but was unable to catch them. As this was in the Depression several hobos were riding on the Limited and they were killed. My Dad, N. F. Miller, was the operator on duty at Shubenacadie the night the accident took place. Engineer Bowers was killed, Camel Le Blanc, mail clerk, was burned inside the express car. The fireman, Bull Dog Clarence Steeves, was thrown out of the engine and landed on the telegraph wires which broke his fall to the ground. He died in 1975. I forgot the tune but was told that it was similar to "The Wreck of the Royal Palm" so I have arranged that music as you hear it on the tape. All places mentioned are in Nova Scotia. (Canadian Folk Music Bulletin, 1982, 16(4), p. 20).

Norm Cohen, in his Long Steel Rail (Urbana IL: University of Illinois Press, 1981) indicates that "The Wreck of the Royal Palm" was written by American songwriter, the Reverend Andrew (Blind Andy) Jenkins, who also wrote several other well-known railroad songs such as "Ben Dewberry's Final Run" (p. 159). He wasn't llimited to railroad songs, penning several popular songs such as "Dream of a Miner's Child" and "The Death of Floyd Collins."

On a dark and stormy night the rain was fallin' fast
The two crack trains on the Southern road with a scream and whistle blast
Were speeding down the line for home and Christmas Day
On the Royal Palm and the Ponce de Leon was laughter bright and gay.

Nineteen persons were killed in the head-on crash, 123 injured. A version, sung by early country music pioneer Vernon Dalhart (aka Al Craver), was released in February 1927, a mere two months after the disaster, selling 36,000 copies. This shows how the early recording industry was geared to produce, rather rapidly, music of current interest. Cohen notes that all of the deaths and serious injuries occurred on the Ponce de Leon, leaving him to wonder why the Royal Palm got the "glory" of being in the title (p. 249).

Dalhart's version on the "Wreck of the Royal Palm" can be found on an anthology album, Songs of the Railroad (Vetco, LP 103). A version sung by Clarence Wyatt can be found on the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song Recording L61: Railroad Songs and Ballads, Joe Glaser sings it on Union Train (Collector Records), and Bill and Kristin Morris sing it on "Daddy What's a Train?.

In the future I plan to scan the Halifax newspapers to see if I can dig up some pictures and more details of the wreck.

This brief resource is a "work in progress." If you have any suggestions for corrections or additions please let us know .

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