Virginia before dawn on Thanksgiving morning, November 29, 1906. The Spencer party were in his private car, at the rear of the train, en route to his hunting lodge near Friendship, NC. When the coupling failed on the lead car, the train was left stalled on the track. A following train ran into the stranded cars in the pre-dawn darkness, crushing the Spencer car, killing Spencer & all but one of its occupants. Spencer was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery. Legacy Spencer is credited with leading the Southern Railway and the South during a period of unprecedented growth. After his untimely death, 30,000 Southern Railway employees contributed to pay for a statue of him by sculptor Daniel Chester French, which was dedicated in 1910 and stood for many years at Atlanta's Terminal Station. Following the station's demolition in 1970, the statue was moved multiple times, first to Peachtree station, then in 1996 to Hardy Ivy Park, and finally to its current resting place in front of the Norfolk Southern building at the intersection of Peachtree Street and 15th Street in Midtown Atlanta. Spencer was also a member of the Jekyll Island Club, which operated as an exclusive millionaire's retreat from 1888 to 1942. Spencer's former apartment in the Clubhouse Annex is said to be haunted by his ghost. The Southern Railway's Spencer Shops and the town of Spencer, North Carolina were named in his honor. In 1977, the closed Spencer Shops formed the basis of the new North Carolina Transportation Museum. See also List of railroad executives Spencer Yard References Further reading External links Southern Railway Historical Society Southern Railway Historical Association covers Southern Railway history Virginia Museum of Transportation located in Roanoke, VA Southern Railway Yahoo Group a Yahoo group for former employees, railfans and modelers of the Southern Railway Norfolk Southern Yahoo Group a Yahoo group for current happenings of Norfolk Southern Railway 1847 births 1906 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives 20th-century American railroad executives Railway accident deaths in the United States University of Georgia people Confederate States Army soldiers People from Columbus, Georgia Southern Railway (U.S.) University of Virginia alumni Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)