This is one of a number of ballads written about the wreck of the Old 97, a deadly accident that occurred when a speeding train left the tracks and crashed at the Stillhouse Trestle outside Danville in 1903. The most popular of the ballads, heard here, was recorded by Vernon Dalhart for RCA Victor Records in 1924. It became an early country hit ...

Wreck []. The Wreck of Old 97 occurred when the engineer, 33-year-old Joseph A. ("Steve") Broady, at the controls of Southern Railway 1102, or the Fast Mail, was operating the train at high speed in order to stay on schedule and arrive at Spencer on time.The Fast Mail had a reputation for never being late.Locomotive 1102, a ten-wheeler 4-6-0 engine built by Baldwin Locomotive …

Old 97 may refer to: Wreck of the Old 97, 1903 American train wreck of the Fast Mail, which was itself known as "Old 97", and subsequent ballad. Old 97's, American alternative rock group active 1993–present. Topics referred to by the same term. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Old 97.

In 1959, the Kingston Trio recorded “The MTA Song,” about a man trapped on the Boston subway system, using the same tune as Dalhart’s version and continuing the tradition of updating the disaster ballad for changing times. The story of the wreck of the Old 97 lives on even in contemporary music through the country-rock band the Old 97s.

The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail (train number 97), while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Travelling at an excessive speed in an attempt to maintain schedule, the train derailed at the Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia, where …

This ballad contains rhyming every other line . The Wreck of old '97 was written about a train wreck that took place near Danville at Stillhouse Trestle in 1903. The locomotive overturned on Southern Railway 1102 and derailed due to the engineer Steve Broady driving the train at excessive speeds.

The wreck of the Old 97 served as inspiration for balladeers, the most famous being the ballad first recorded commercially by Virginia musicians G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter. [2] Vernon Dalhart's version was released in 1924 (Victor Record no. 19427), sometimes cited as the first million-selling country music release in the American record industry. [3]

それ以来、"Wreck of the Old 97"は数々の音楽家によりレコードされている。その曲はリンチバーグ周辺の鉄道員や船乗り、モンタナ州に暮らす感傷的なカウボーイの間で大人気となった。 "Wreck of the Old 97"はRoud Folk Song Indexの777番目に収録されている。