Yazoo Delta Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Yazoo-Delta Railroad (sometimes known as the Yellow Dog) was a branch line that opened in August 1897 between Moorhead
and Ruleville, Mississippi
. It was extended to Tutwiler, Mississippi
, and Lake Dawson and was acquired by the Yazoo and Mississippi Railroad
by 1903.
An alternative is that the nickname applied originally to the Yazoo and Mississippi railroad and that was later applied to the Yazoo-Delta railroad.
wrote about his first experience of the blues when he encountered a blues musician in Tutwiler, Mississippi, on this line.
Big Bill Broonzy
s Southern Blues contains the line where the Southern crosses the Dog, referring to Moorhead where the line crossed the Southern Railway.
Moorhead, Mississippi
Moorhead is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,573. The city includes the legendary blues crossroads "where the Southern cross the Dog"...
and Ruleville, Mississippi
Ruleville, Mississippi
Ruleville is a small city in the fertile Mississippi Delta region in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,234 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ruleville is located at ....
. It was extended to Tutwiler, Mississippi
Tutwiler, Mississippi
Tutwiler is a town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,364 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1899 Tom Tutwiler, a civil engineer for a local railroad, made his headquarters seven miles northeast of Sumner. The town of Tutwiler was founded and named for him...
, and Lake Dawson and was acquired by the Yazoo and Mississippi Railroad
Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad
The Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad was incorporated in 1882 and was part of the Illinois Central Railroad system . Construction began in Jackson, Mississippi, and continued to Yazoo City, Mississippi. The line was later expanded through the Mississippi Delta and on to Memphis, Tennessee...
by 1903.
Possible origins of the nickname
One theory is that the nickname came about because of the initials YD on locomotives.An alternative is that the nickname applied originally to the Yazoo and Mississippi railroad and that was later applied to the Yazoo-Delta railroad.
Blues connections
W. C. HandyW. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
wrote about his first experience of the blues when he encountered a blues musician in Tutwiler, Mississippi, on this line.
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
s Southern Blues contains the line where the Southern crosses the Dog, referring to Moorhead where the line crossed the Southern Railway.