Engine One-Forty-Three

Song performed by Johnny Cash
"Engine One Forty Three" is a ballad in the tradition of Anglo American train wreck songs. It is based on the true story of the wreck of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's Fast Flying Virginian (FFV) near Hinton, West Virginia in 1890. The song's earliest documented appearance was in Railroad Man Magazine in 1913 as "The Wreck on the C. & O. ", while its earliest recording was in 1924. The first use of the title "Engine One Forty Three" was for a recording by the Carter Family in 1929, which became one of the group's best selling records and the basis for many subsequent recordings.

The FFV, the Chesapeake & Ohio's luxury passenger train, was heading east to Washington, D. C. in the early morning of 23 October 1890 when it struck a rockslide three miles outside Hinton in Summers County, West Virginia. The train's 30 year old engineer George Alley tried to stop, but the engine overturned, and he was trapped in the wreckage. Severely scalded, Alley died five hours later. His two firemen, both of whom leapt from the engine, were also scalded but survived. Remarkably, no passengers were injured. Apart from the basic story, the song deviates widely from the facts associated with the accident. For example, Alley's mother did not come to his side as he was dying (she had died years earlier); Alley's hair was black, not blonde; the train's fireman had no part in causing the crash; and among other differences, the engine's number was 134, not 143. Meanwhile, there is no evidence Alley was speeding to make up lost time. In fact, the young engineer, whose father and four brothers all worked for the C. & O., was hailed a hero for his attempt to prevent the crash.

Gene Austin, an early crooner, was the first to record the song in 1924, under the title "The C. & O. Wreck", and several other versions were recorded in the next few years under different titles. On February 15, 1929, The Carter Family recorded the song as "Engine One Forty Three" with A. P. Carter credited as songwriter. The Carters' release on the Victor label sold more than 88,000 copies, while their Montgomery Ward release accounted for another 5,000 in sales. Over the years, variations of the song, most based on the Carter Family version, have been recorded by dozens of artists, including the Kossoy Sisters, Dave Alvin, Joan Baez, Norman Blake, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, David Grisman, Roger Miller, Michael Nesmith, Ralph Stanley, Townes Van Zandt, and Doc Watson. "Engine One Forty Three" was the last song to be recorded by country music singer Johnny Cash. Cash recorded the song on August 21, 2003, 23 days before his death. It was released the next year on the tribute album The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family. Folk singer Dave Van Ronk recorded a parody of "Engine One Forty Three" in 1960 under the title "Georgie and the IRT". The song's lyrics, written by crime writer Lawrence Block, poked fun at New York City's subway system.

The song has appeared under many titles, including "Wreck of the C. & O. ", "The F. F. V.", "George Allen", and "The C. & O. Wreck". The following examples show the differences and similarities in the opening stanzas of "Engine One Forty Three" and its variants.