In 1958, rocker Chuck Berry recorded "Johnny B. Goode" in which a lyric fragment goes:
"The engineer would see him sittin' in the shade,
Strummin' to the rhythm that the Drivers made."
I guess the Steam influence was still around in 1958.
Bad Order Hal
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Good observation, "Bad Order"! Chuck Berry was quite a bit older then his teen ager-oriented songs of the 1950's suggested. He was born in 1926 and grew up in St. Louis in a middle class family, so presume he had a lot of exposure to MoPac and Frisco steam fighting it's way upgrade, out of the Mississippi River basin. Chuck's music is Blues derived, and there are numerous references to steam locomotives and railroads in the Blues. Big Boy Crudup's "Mean Old Frisco" comes to mind.........."that mean ol' Frisco. that low down SantaFe. Done took my baby, and just blowed back at me!"
HEY MARK,
You seem to have a Railroad Song heritage too!
My favorite all-time RR song was "Wreck of the Old 97", a tragedy that occurred on the Southern Railway in Danville, VA. in 1903.
"When we cross that White Oak Mountain, gonna watch ol' 97 roll!"
Many artists have recorded that song over the years, including Johnny Cash.
Bad Order
Always loved "The Wabash Cannonball", by Roy Acuff. That brings to mind that the Wabash Ry introduced a train by that name AFTER the song was popularized!
Yes, and the real Cannonball was a Diesel!
Bad Order
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