On the recording at "Record Lady," the word on the Dalhart recording is 'average'."
It is so transcribed in Norm Cohen, "Long Steel Rail," p. 213, where Vernon Dalhart's lyrics are fully transcribed, along with other versions.

'Average' was a point considered in the famous trial concerning authorship of the song (discussed in "Long Steel Rail."
I believe that the court fight is covered somewhere in the threads on this song; in any case it is presented clearly in "The Long Steel Rail" for those truly interested in the minutiae of the trial, its appeal and reversal.

So tak wahrnin, fahrmun. Not that it makes no nevuh mind, but the pronunciations seem normal for the area (actually quite a bit of variation. Certainly they don't have the accents of New England (also varied).

Dalhart may have made more than one take of this song, which was popular for many years. The railroad term 'average' is not understood by those outside of the fraternity.