Sad day indeed, when folks have forgotten "The Wreck of Old 97" Country music's first million-seller hit--and the tale of America's most famous rail disasters--
Here are the relevant verses, as I sing them--I've known them for so long that I've forgotten where I learned them. Your lyrics may vary.

It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville,
On a hill with a three-mile grade,
It was on that grade that he lost his airbrake,
You can see what a jump he made.

He was rolling down the track at Ninety Miles an hour
When his whistle broke into a scream.
They found him in the wreck with his hands on the throttle,
He was scalded to death by the steam.