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Railroad Man's Prayer

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Posted by SALfan on Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:15 PM

Overmod

 

 
wanswheel
Reminds me of a song…

 

Even with the ch-choo-pum-pums, this one is lovely:

 

Thank you for posting this video - I really like Patsy Cline's version of the song, and it had been  a long time since I'd heard it.

Firelock, you are SO right.  Her voice was powerful enough to break granite when she really bore down.

 

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Posted by zardoz on Monday, November 24, 2014 5:43 PM

dakotafred

 

 
EDWARD ROSENBERG

We may never know who penned this, but perhaps it's better that way.

 

 

 

For his literary reputation? Wink

 

Whoever he was, he certainly was a prolific poster (282,456 posts!!!).

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Posted by dakotafred on Sunday, November 23, 2014 6:05 PM

EDWARD ROSENBERG

We may never know who penned this, but perhaps it's better that way.

 

For his literary reputation? Wink

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Posted by Firelock76 on Sunday, November 23, 2014 3:32 PM

Mmmm-mmmmm!  That lady could SING!

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, November 23, 2014 3:00 PM

wanswheel
Reminds me of a song…

Even with the ch-choo-pum-pums, this one is lovely:

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Posted by wanswheel on Sunday, November 23, 2014 2:03 PM

Anonymous
Found in a book that referenced a magazine called "The Railroad man's magazine"

Now that I have flagged thee, lift up my feet from the road of life and plant them safely on the deck of the train of salvation.
Let me use the safety lamp of prudence, make all couplings with the link of love, let my hand-lamp be my bible,
and keep all switches closed that lead off the main line into the sidings with blind ends.
Have every semaphore white along the line of hope, That I may make the run of life without stopping and when I have finished the run on schedule time and pulled into the terminal, may thou superintendant of the universe say "Well done, good and faithful servant, come into the general office and sign the payroll and recieve your check for happiness
 

 

Reminds me of a song…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCYX005_hw4

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Monthly Journal, May 1895

A Railroader's Prayer

A railroad man is responsible for the following prayer:

“O Lord, now that I have flagged Thee, lift my feet from off the road of life and plant them safely on deck of the train of salvation!  Let me use the safety lamp known as prudence, make all couplings in the train with the strong link of Thy love, and let my lamp be the Bible!  And, Heavenly Father, keep all switches closed that lead off on the sidings, especially those with a blind end!  O Lord, if it be Thy pleasure, have every semaphore block along the line to show the white light of hope, and that I may make the run of life without stopping.  And, Lord, give us the Ten Commandments as a schedule, and when I have finished the run and have on schedule time pulled into the great station of Death, may Thou, the Superintendent of the Universe, say with a smile, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant; come and sign the pay-roll and receive your check for eternal happiness.’”

Rehoboth Sunday Herald

Imperial Valley Press, June 20, 1908:

A PERSISTENT MYTH

In an exchange appears a short funny paragraph credited to the "Rehoboth Sunday Herald," a journal which never existed but has been the exchange editor's friend for many a year. When the exchange editor finds good paragraphs or anecdotes in certain newspapers, he knows they have been stolen and he will not give credit for them to the purloiner; neither will he steal them himself. In such cases the old custom was to credit the story to "Exchange," which was the same as "anonymous" in the old school reader. About twenty-five years ago the exchange editor of the Boston Globe asked the staff for the name of the most obscure hamlet on the Atlantic coast; the most lonesome, backward, fossilized crossroads post office discoverable, where nobody ever thought of publishing a paper. Rehoboth filled the bill, and the "Rehoboth Sunday Herald" was invented to take credit of all the stolen and unidentified good things clipped from the exchanges. That Mrs. Harris of journalism is one of the most famous papers in the country, and for a quarter of a century has been quoted in all seriousness by many editors. The inventor little dreamed, when the Rehoboth Sunday Herald was started as a joke, that the paper had "come to stay," even though it "filled a long-felt want."

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, November 23, 2014 1:07 PM

That the "semaphores be white" dates it far more than a simple mention of semaphores does.

Johnny

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Posted by EDWARD ROSENBERG on Sunday, November 23, 2014 1:03 AM

We may never know who penned this, but perhaps it's better that way.

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 6, 2003 9:13 AM
Does anyone know who first penned this? I would love to find out so proper credit can be given.
Mike
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, January 5, 2003 12:30 AM
A little dated (handlamps and semephore arms), but good.
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 2, 2003 2:04 PM
Amen..Thank you for bringing this to us!!
Icemanmike-Milwaukee
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Railroad Man's Prayer
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 2, 2003 12:10 PM
Found in a book that referenced a magazine called "The Railroad man's magazine"

Now that I have flagged thee, lift up my feet from the road of life and plant them safely on the deck of the train of salvation.
Let me use the safety lamp of prudence, make all couplings with the link of love, let my hand-lamp be my bible,
and keep all switches closed that lead off the main line into the sidings with blind ends.
Have every semaphore white along the line of hope, That I may make the run of life without stopping and when I have finished the run on schedule time and pulled into the terminal, may thou superintendant of the universe say "Well done, good and faithful servant, come into the general office and sign the payroll and recieve your check for happiness

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