Wreck of Old 85, The

DESCRIPTION: "Old Eight-five Had a brave engineer, To make up twenty minutes He had no fear"; he reaches a speed of 95 as he reaches the tunnel by Bluestone River. The engineer tries his brake; it fails. He bids his fireman goodbye; they will meet in the promised land
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1937 (copy received by James Taylor Adams)
KEYWORDS: train wreck death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jun 30, 1937 - N & W Train 85 goes off a bridge at Maybeury, West Virginia. The train burns for two days; four people are killed (source: Lyle)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lyle-ScaldedToDeathByTheSteam, pp. 182-197, "The Wreck of Old 85" (1 text)
Roud #14025
NOTES [19 words]: Lyle states that the tune of this song is unknown, but it seems quite clear that it was sung to "Casey Jones." - RBW
Last updated in version 3.6
File: LySc186

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