Alfred Jackson Vining Stayed at His Post to the Last

 

At one time in the American South, the railroad was both its lifeblood and a site of frequent tragedy. In the late 1800s, being a locomotive engineer, like Alfred Jackson Vining, was statistically among the most dangerous jobs in America. Whenever at work, for the engineman and his crew, life depended on a pocket watch and a prayer. The Safety Appliance Act of 1893 mandated railroad companies use air brakes and automatic couplers, but the transition was slow since the law wasn't fully enforceable until 1900. Many trains still relied on manual "link and pin" coupling—often resulting in crew members being crushed between cars—and hand-operated brakes, though the Central of Georgia, for which Alfred ran freight, was working to modernize.

Alfred, his wife Emma, and their three daughters lived on 4th Street in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, just a few blocks from the rail yards. The "call boy," a young railroad employee sent to wake up crew members for their shifts, likely knocked on Alfred's door the night before he was scheduled to run freight to Alabama, notifying him of the hour he was to report to the yard. The date of the run was 24 November 1899, just a few days after Alfred and Emma's eleventh wedding anniversary and less than a week before Thanksgiving.

It was a chilly fall morning. After performing a walking inspection of his "iron horse" and conferring with his fireman, Alfred began the trip, using his certified pocket watch to navigate by the timecard. After hours of being violently jolted in the scorching hot and deafeningly loud cab—seemingly just another day at the throttle—the end came for Alfred about one in the afternoon near Georgetown, Quitman County, Georgia, and the bridge over the Chattahoochee.

The following transcription is from the 25 November 1899 Americus Times-Recorder (Georgia).

ENGINES COLLIDED; ENGINEERS KILLED.

A Head End Smashup on the Central Yesterday.

ACCIDENT NEAR EUFAULA, ALA.

Freight Trains Crash Together and Brave Men at the Throttle Lose Their Lives in the Disaster.—Many Cars Badly Broken.

A fearful head-end collision between two freight trains of the Central of Georgia Railway occurred yesterday afternoon at 1 o'clock between Eufaula and Georgetown, resulting in the death of both brave engineers and the probable injury of others of the crew.

The engineers were Cliff McManus and Alfred Vining.

The trains were numbers 33 and 34, running between Smithville and Montgomery, and the collision occurred at a point near Georgetown, on the Georgia side of the river.

The crash of the iron giants was terrific, and engine reared against engine in deadly embrace despite the herculean efforts made by both engineers to bring the trains to a stop. Both engines were wrecked, as were a number of freight cars.

It is said that Engineers Vining and McManus stuck to their posts to the last and went down in the debris of broken iron and twisted steel, while hissing steam shut out the terrible spectacle for a time.

Engineer Vining, it is said, was buried beneath the debris, his body not being found until nearly an hour afterwards.

Engineer McManus was well known in Americus and his wife, who was Miss Wells, of Smithville, has relatives here. He was a young man and, like Mr. Vining, an excellent and careful engineer.

It is not known how many of the crew were injured or to what extent, though it was reported that both firemen were scalded and one of the conductors hurt quite badly. The dead engineers and the injured ones were carried to Eufaula.

Just what caused the accident is not known, but certainly someone blundered. The wrecking train passed Americus an hour or two after the collision, en route to clear away the fearful wreck.

An article in the 29 November 1899 Dawson News (Georgia) offered further detail:

Engineer McManus was found leaning out of his cab window dead, and Engineer Vining was so tightly wedged in between the engine and tender that it took several hours hard work to get him out.

The accident is said to have been due to misinterpretation of orders by Engineer McManus.

Alfred Jackson Vining was buried in the Cabiness Ridge section of Rose Hill Cemetery. Per a burial notice published in the Macon Telegraph, "the funeral was largely attended, as Mr. Vining was very popular. The procession was one of the largest seen in Macon for a great while."

(Image by Dr. Jim via FindAGrave)

Clifford McManus (1864-1899), engineer of the other train in the deadly collision, was laid to rest in Smithville Cemetery in Lee County, Georgia. He was also a father of three.

Genealogical Notes:

• Alfred Jackson Vining was the son of Jackson LaFayette Vining (1833-1899), who died about seven months before his son, and Sarah Caroline Glover.
• Emma Delilah Jernigan (1872-1962), Alfred's wife, was the daughter of William Henry Jernigan and Emily Louise McDowell.
• Alfred and Emma were married 21 November 1888 in Bibb County, Georgia. Their children were Myra L. (1890-1981), Zitelle (1892-1981), and Virginia "Jennie" (1897-1986).
• Emma never remarried after Alfred's death. Though she can be found in Bibb County for the 1900 census, she had taken her daughters to Headland, Henry County, Alabama by 1910 and remained there for the rest of her life. Notably, Emma and her daughters each lived to be approximately 90 years old.

More Railroad Men in Rose Hill Cemetery:

• Father and Son Ray: Railroad Engineer and Conductor
• Brave Confederate Peter Bracken Dead
• Terrific Explosion Followed by Death
• Death of Virgil Powers
• John W. Kimbrew: Railroader and Soldier
• Julius Burghard Dies
• Fred T. Carson: Machinist of the Central of Georgia Railroad

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