Fred Harvey contracted with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad to establish a chain of restaurants at depots throughout the western United States in 1876. The restaurants were called "Harvey House" and its female employees became known as Harvey Girls. The chain and the girls were memorialized in the 1946 MGM film "The Harvey Girls" starring Judy Garland. "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" was written for the film and won an Academy Award for best film song.
Bing recorded the song Feb. 17, 1944, but the recording was not released until June 1945, six months before the release of the film. It charted the following month, and remained on the charts for a total of 15 weeks, peaking at No. 3. Johnny Mercer, who co-authored the song, also recorded it. Mercer's disc became his best-selling recording -- outselling even Bing's and topping the charts for 8 weeks in the summer of '45.
Do you hear that whistle down the line
I figure that it's engine number forty-nine
She's the only one that'll sound that way
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
See the old smoke risin' 'round the bend
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend
Folks around these parts get the time of day
From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
Here she comes, woo-oo
Hey Jim, you better get out the rig, woo-oo
She's got a list of passengers that's pretty big
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel
'Cause lots of them been travellin' for quite a spell
All the way from Philadelphia
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
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Do you hear that whistle down the line
I figure that it's engine number forty-nine
She's the only one that'll sound that way
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
See the old smoke risin' 'round the bend
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend
Folks around these parts get the time of day
From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
Here she comes, woo-oo
Hey Jim, you better get out the rig, woo-oo
She's got a list of passengers that's pretty big
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel
'Cause lots of them been travellin' for quite a spell
All the way from Philadelphia
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
Doo-doo-da, The good old A.T. and the Santa Fe