Here's Doc Watson's version...

THE WRECK OF THE 1262

Recorded by Doc Watson/Trad.

He'd just left the point at kittanning
The freight number 1262
And on down the mountains he travelled
So brave were the men in her crew.

The engineer pulled at the whistle
For the brakes wouldn't work when applied
And the brakeman climbed out on the car top
For he knew what that whistle had cried.

With all of the strength that God gave him
He tied in those brakes with a prayer
But the train went right on down that mountain
Her whistle still piercing the air.

He travelled at sixty an hour
Gaining speed ev'ry foot of the way
And then with a crash it was over
And there on the track the freight lay.

It's not the amount of the damage
Or the value of what the wreck cost
It's the sad scene they found in the cabin
Where the lives of two brave men were lost.

They found them at their post in the wreckage
Where they died when the engine had fell
The engineer still held the whistle
And the fireman still clung to the bell.

Now this story is told of a freight train
But it should be a warning to all
We need to be prepared ev'ry moment
For we can never tell when He'll call.

Source: DOC WATSON ON STAGE/VSD 9/10