Roosevelt High School

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Class of 1951

Presents:

Railroad Tunes

This page is dedicated to my Daughter Debra R. Kenny (A.K.A. The Railroad Lady) and in Memory of my Grandfather Sidney Proctor Rutan, and my Father, Earl P. Rutan, both of whom worked for the Rock Island Railroad. One or both of them worked for the Rock Island Lines from 1896 through 1973! Their combined total was 90 years!

These Tunes date from 1910 through the early 1950's.

Sit back, close your eyes, and let the memories flow.

Enjoy!

If you wish, you may play or download individual Selections below.

I make no apology for multiple renditions of the same song. Many were very popular, and were recorded by multiple artists. There ae now 52 selections available.

The Rock Island Line - Johnny Cash

Casey Jones - Johnny Cash

Chatanooga Choo Choo - Glen Miller

Orange Blossom Special - Boxcar Willie

John Henry - Johnny Cash

Wabash Cannonball - Flatt and Scruggs

That Lonesome Whistle - Boxcar Willie

Atchinson Topeka & Santa Fe J. Mercer

Wabash Cannonball - Boxcar Willie

Wreck of the old 97 - Boxcar Willie

Freight Train Blues - Boxcar Willie

Hobo Heaven - Boxcar Willie

Last Train to Heaven - Boxcar Willie

Lonesome Joe - Boxcar Willie

Hobo Song - Johnny Cash

Railroad Lady - Jimmy Buffett

Atchinson Topeka & Santa Fe - Nancy Lamott

Casey Jones Billy Murray - 1910 Victor

Wreck of the Old 97 Flatt & Scruggs

The Lord Made a Hobo Out of me - Boxcar Willie

Includes an Interwiew of Willie

Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot

Wreck of the Old 97 - Roy Acuff

Chattanooga Choo Choo - Dorothy Dandridge

Chattanooga Choo Choo - Unknown Quartet

Wreck of the Old 97 - Johnnie Cash

Daddy Was a Railroad Man - Boxcar Willie

Daughter of a Railroad Man - Johnny Cash

Wreck of the old 97 - Lew Childe

Freight Train - Peter, Paul, & Mary

Freight Train - Rusty Draper

Wreck of the Old 97 - Tommy Collins

Hobo Bill - Cisco Houston

Hobo Till I Die - Boxcar Willie

Wreck of the Old 97 - Vernon Dalhart - 1924

Hobo Bill - Grandpa Jones

Hobo Bill - Hank Snow

Wreck of the Old 97 - Hank Snow

The Railroad Comes Through the Middle of the House

Vaughn Monroe

A Railroad Bum - Jim Reeves

Hobo Billy - Jimmy Rodgers

Railroad Lady - Jerry Jeff Walker

Right Track, Wrong Train - Confederate Railroad

Wreck of the Old 97 - Lonnie Donnegan

Santa Fe Sam & Hobo Bill - Boxcar Willie

Wreck of the Old 97 - Jim Wiseman

Send My Body Home on a Freight Train - New Vintage

Texas Bound Train - Correy Morrow

The Hobo Song - John Pine

Wreck of the Old 97 - Doc & Merle Watson

Train Medley - Boxcar Willie

Bonus - OTR

Our collection of Old Time Radio includes an Episode of Suspense Titled " The Wreck of the Old 97". This is a fictionalized (but absolutely historically accurate) story of that wreck. The wreck of 97, as well as Casey Jones, and John Henry are NOT FICTION. They are actual people and events which have become Folk Lore, and fictionalized over time. All Names, Dates, Places, and Events in this program are historically accurate (including the robbery). The two unidentified bodies found in the wreck were assumed to have been "Knights of the Road" (Hobos). This is a classic OTR program. I invite you to listen to it at the risk of becoming addicted to Old Time Radio! If you do "get hooked", visit our OTR pages.

Just click the Radio below

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