West River Railroad

DESCRIPTION: "We've got a little railroad And it isn't very wide. We put in twenty thousand And quite a lot beside." Few travelers take the train: "A sheriff and a parson, Three ladies... and a little red calf." After humorous incidents, all arrive
AUTHOR: Mr. and Mrs. Julian Johnson ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (Flanders/Brown-VermontFolkSongsAndBallads)
KEYWORDS: railroading train humorous money
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Flanders/Brown-VermontFolkSongsAndBallads, pp. 198-199, "West River Railroad" (1 text)
ST FlBr198 (Partial)
Roud #5454
NOTES [56 words]: Reportedly written for a home talent play, which somehow survived thirty years to be included in Flanders and Brown. (To be fair, it's much funnier than most such songs).
Apparently the song is about a locally-financed railroad which was, at best, only mildly successful.
No tune is shown, but I suspect "I Hard a Little Nut Tree." - RBW
File: FlBr198

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