124 Altoona Avenue, Enola, Pa. 17025
I read with great interest your article concerning John Luther
Jones and Engine 2012 (Iron Man Album – Volume 30, No. 3). I
believe your readers might be interested in another bit of history
involving the Illinois Central and ‘Casey Jones’.
My father, Reuben A. Kaplan, founder of the Owatoona Tool
by the legendary Casey Jones.
Dad had dreamed of buying the locomotive since he first saw it
in Illinois about twenty years ago. The engine was then owned by
Harold P. Vonachen of Peoria, Illinois. Mr. Vonachen used the
locomotive to highlight the railroad motif of his restaurant. In
recent years maintenance problems had become too great and rather
than watch Old 201 and its colorful history rust away, he decided
to sell it.
The engine was built by Rogers Locomotive in 1880. It is
estimated that during its 46 years of service with the Illinois
Central Railroad, No. 201 traveled a distance equivalent to three
round trips to the moon, pulled 115,000 trains and carried over 25
million passengers.
As recorded in the annals of the Illinois Central, No. 201 was
assigned to Casey Jones in 1893. At that time the engine shuttled
visitors between Chicago’s Van Buren Street and the World
Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park. Well over 100,000 persons
rode behind Casey’s engine during this fair.
No. 201 is now on permanent display on the grounds of the
Owatoona Tool Company in Owatoona, Minnesota. Dad has already begun
restoring the engine and soon hopes to have it in excellent
condition.
If you are ever in the Southern Minnesota area, we invite you to
stop in and see this grand old locomotive.
