The Orange Blossom Special

Perhaps no other bluegrass captures the sense of movement, trains chugging along a track, or the sense of watching a silver bullet train move through the country-side.  Written by Ervin T. Rouse and Gordon Rouse in 1939 (although for many years Chubby Wise claimed to have written it).  The song has long been covered by many music stars including Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, and Roy Clark among others. 

The Orange Blossom Special was a passenger train run by the Seaboard Rail Company and ran from New York City to Miami.  The train started running in 1925 (ended in 1953) and was marketed as the fast, luxurious train to bring the rich and influential businessman from NYC to Florida - which was booming at the time.

While the story itself is contested, Chubby Wise claims that after visiting the local establishments in Jacksonville, he and Rouse visited the train station to watch the Orange Blossom Special pull into town.  If you listen closely, you can imagine pumping steam engine and the chugging power of the train moving out.  Also captured in the song is the long, mournful sound of the train whistle.

However, after looking through YouTube at many of the other incarnations of the song, this version is probably my favorite.  Something about a classical string quartet playing bluegrass.