The song that won an Oscar in 1946, is it based on fact or fiction and, if fact, can someone provide the details?

sequoianoir

"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" This one mon petit porc ? Oct 28 03, 4:23 PM

mochyn

YES DB,but I want to know some details such as when was it in existence if ever or just in song.If the line is real where did it travel from and to Oct 28 03, 4:40 PM

sequoianoir

Oh it is real alright mochyn. "ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RAILWAY SYSTEM. Founded in Kansas in 1859 by Cyrus K. Holliday as the Atchison and Topeka Railroad, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway system became one of the largest and most profitable railroads in the Southwest. Holliday envisioned a line that would link Kansas with the Pacific Ocean in California, with Mexico City, and with the Gulf of Mexico, as well as with Santa Fe." http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/railroad/ATCHISON.cfm Oct 28 03, 4:44 PM

lothruin

First off, Doug, "It Might as Well be Spring" was Best Song from 1945, not 1946. As to the truth of the song, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway system was founded in 1886 as the Atchison and Topeka Railroad. This IS the Santa Fe Railroad, which is now linked with Burlington Northern Railroad as BNSF. The bulk of railway lines were between Kansas, Texas and the Southwestern United States, into California. In the lyrics, Philadelphia is mentioned. As of 1970 there was a Santa Fe traffic office in Phillie. I cannot find record of when the lines reached Pennsylvania, though. However, as early as 1944, Santa Fe was being supplied with locomotives from a steel works in Phillie. The song is from the movie, The Harvey Girls, which also a historical reference. The original Harvey Girls worked as waitresses in a series of restaurants along the Santa Fe Line, opened by Fred Harvey. Oct 28 03, 4:58 PM

lothruin

And Fast Freight, by Terry Gillkyson. I remember the words from my childhood. "Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, The wheels are hummin' on the railroad track, Singing if you go, you can't come back, If you go, you can't come back..." I lived on a farm, halfway between the Montana border and the Port of Entry at Sheridan, Wyoming. Between the farmhouse and the highway were the train tracks. We lost a dog a year. And I fell asleep each night to that clickety-clack, the trains carrying coal from the big mines at Decker to Colorado. To this day, when I'm stopped at a track, I roll the windows down and close my eyes, and just listen. :-) Oct 28 03, 6:30 PM