“Blue Railroad Train” was written by Alton and Rabon Delmore and recorded by the Delmore Brothers in 1934. The brothers wrote it as a tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, the “Blue Yodeler,” who had died the year before; the song is threaded with Rodgers-style guitar runs and the lonesome, train-bound mood he had made his own.
The Delmores’ recording is also a small landmark of their distinctive sound — Rabon playing a four-string tenor guitar rather than the second six-string or mandolin a brother duet would usually use, giving their close harmony a bright, ringing frame.
“Blue Railroad Train” reached the modern bluegrass and flatpicking world chiefly through Tony Rice, who recorded it on his 1979 album Manzanita. That version became one of the cuts most associated with him, and the song is now a standard for guitarists drawn to its blend of train imagery and easy momentum.
