Alex Ross, music writer for The New Yorker has written that in 1903, the "bandleader W. C. Handy was killing time at a train depot in Tutwiler, Mississippi...when he came upon a raggedly dressed man singing and strumming what Handy later described as 'the weirdest music I had ever heard.' The singer kept repeating the phrase "Goin' Where the Southern cross' the Dog", which apparently refers to a location where the Southern RR would cross "the Dog". Do any of our southern correspondents have any idea where that location would have been?
Ross goes on to explain that the meeting between the unknown singer and Handy had a huge influence on 20th century music and, while I'm sure the singer will never be identified, I'd love to know where "the Southern cross' the Dog."
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
According to this website this is the location near Tutweiller:
"The song referred to the crossing of the Southern and Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroads in Moorhead, forty-two miles to the south; the Y&MV (sometimes called the Yazoo Delta or Y.D.) was nicknamed the “Dog,” or “Yellow Dog.”
The Y&MV latter became the IC,now CN. But I'm puzzled by the Southern reference. At Moorhead the Y&MV interchanged with the Columbus and Greenville Railroad (The Delta Route). As far as I can tell that RR never became part of the Southern and even today it keeps its identity but is now one of the Genesee & Wyoming shortline properties. Maybe more of that songwriter's poetic license we talked about at another topic.
Posted by Vincent206 (Member # 15447) on :
Wow, that was fast. Thanks.
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
I stand corrected, if you believe the internet:
"The first Columbus and Greenville Railway (reporting mark C&G) was formed by the sale of the Southern Railway operated Southern Railway in Mississippi, to local interests"
This must have been very early as my 1931 OGR shows it as C&G.
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
I can't lay my hands on the specifics, but yes, the C&G was at one point owned or leased by the Southern. The same was also true for the Mobile and Ohio prior to it being bought by the GM&N. It appears that Southern reached a point where they decided to divest themselves of some of their light density subsidiaries.
The C&G could have remained identified by its own name while owned by the Southern. That was the case for the M&O. For that matter, that was a standard of the Southern for most of its existance. Subsidiaries retained their corporate identity. If you looked at most southern cars you would have seen in smaller letters such things as CNO&TP, NO&NE, AGS, etc.