 Ladies and gentlemen, the railroad hour. And here comes our star-studded show train. Tonight, the Association of American Railroads presents the little thing Victor Herbert operetta Eileen, starring Gordon MacRae and his charming young guest Lucille Norman. A choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff, and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. Yes, tonight another great musical success is brought to you by the American Railroads, the same railroads that bring you most of the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the fuel you burn, and all the other things you use in your daily life. Tonight, America's Railroads salute the Campfire Girls, an organization which for 43 years has worked to develop alert citizens and homemakers through a program which combines fun, friendship, and high ideals for girls between the ages of 7 and 18. Best wishes on your birthday tomorrow. Campfire Girls everywhere. And now, here is our star, Gordon MacRae. Thank you, Marvin Miller. In the top of the evening too, you ladies and gentlemen, lovely Lucille Norman will sing the title role of Eileen, and I'll be a Dublin daredevil named Barry O'Day. And any night along about moonrise, you can find me at the water's edge tricking the British with a bit of the smuggler's arse. While ships may sail the sea, while man of us is free, while heron sends us a misty moon. Sure, why not take an integration boom? If France and Spain have something we can do, it would be the greatest thing we do. So free of tax or duty, we'd better shore our booty than bring to the mist for the moon. Oh, here's the night that's black with rain and wind and wave the thick to the better for when the sun comes out again, there's one the wiser at all. On ships and landing on a sun-fantatious devil of penny we have to pay. Oh, men came in a boat to build up and would drink a room. Ta-loo, ta-loo, pretrained and a misty moon. That's the way we got our vitals in the days of the Great Tribulation. Smuggle them ashore on Dublin Bay by the light of a misty moon. I know because I was one of the smugglers. The ringleader. Not a very respectable occupation, you say. Well, it's dangerous sometimes in Ireland to be too respectable. You might get yourself mistook for an Englishman. Now look at that carriage galloping up Westmoreland, boys. The crowd's given them an angry time. Probably some fancy English lord wished he'd stayed at home. I beg you, let my carriage pass through. Why, it is a carline in that car. A pretty one, too. Hi there, me buckles. Well, it is very, very old day. Is there no shivery left in Ireland? She's an English woman. Well, prettier than. Faith, we can't all be lucky enough to be Irish. Come now, clear the path, boys, and let the ladies' carriage go through. I'll eat your horse, ma'am, there's nothing to fear. Sure, and it's that grateful I am to you. Sure, and what kind of talk is that for an English woman to be speaking? My name's Eileen. Does that sound like an English name? Well, then what were they bothering you for? Ah, your horse must be English. I should say not. His name's O'Shaughnessy. I think it's the carriage that made the crowd angry. It belongs to Colonel Lester. And why would you be mixed up with the likes of him? I met him in London. My parents sent me to school there. What folly. Oh, Shaughnessy, oh. And I think you'll be safe enough to travel on your way now, Miss Eileen. Thank you so much. I can see from the way you handle horses you're an excellent groom. Now how can I repay you? No charge. Nay, a small one perhaps. A kiss and a cheek. What? Do you fancy I'm in the habit of handing out kisses to grooms and lackeys? And what if I did fancy, such a fancy? I beg you to let me continue on my way. Well, am I stopping you? Get up, O'Shaughnessy! O'Shaughnessy! There's nothing like the looks of a proud angry woman. You think I'm a groom, do you? And I'd be perfectly willing to be a groom, I think. If you'd be the bride. Oh, I'm in love with a slip of a girl. And if I should be manly or sad, I... Oh, my heart is a fire. And my head is a... Yet I'm suffering. Her hair is that black. And her eyes, she's the form of some pro. Is there? Her cheeks are like roses, new kissed by the doom. The name but my heart you have captured. You're not going to let a blue-eyed and freckled nose the size of a button sway your devotion to the cause. Colonel, put her out of your mind, Barry me boys. Can I inquire a question of you, O'Shaughnessy? He may be only a groom, but you liked him, didn't you, O'Shaughnessy? So did I. He has a way with horses, just true. And faith, I don't think horses are the only creatures he has a way with. Like the dawn of a beauty. A fool you are, Lee Mulvaney. Letting yourself fall in love with a man when you don't even know his name. Barry O'Day, what is it, Sean? The Red Colts. Colonel Lester is on his way here. He's sworn to take you, Barry, dead or alive. Oh, me buckle. There's a mighty difference between the swearing and the doing. Out of the window and over the rooftops. Does he want a chase? Very well, we'll give him one. The love of Three Island, open the door. Don't light the lamp. Make a fine target here in the doorway. Very well. Patrick's be praised. No light now. Please wait till the Red Colts go by. Your voice? It's so familiar. Well, I'm a very familiar sort of a fellow. So the ladies tell me, must she light that candle, lass? Just you. Why, Eileen? I was bitter mean to you in the high street this afternoon. Can you forgive me? Why, if you pay me the price I ask for my services. When a man can kiss like that, why should he waste his time grooming horses? I'm not a groom. I'm Barry O'Day. The famous smuggler? Just want to be lesser talents. Why, there's a price on your head. Not nearly so high as the value I put on it myself. But Colonel Lester's sworn to kill you. Would that make you sad, Eileen? It's only a springton of ours I've known you Barry O'Day. But would make me very sad indeed. He doesn't know me. Hide. But why? He'll search the house. The best hiding place is no hiding place at all. Come in, sir. I thank you. My compliments, Miss Eileen. Good evening, Colonel Lester. We are searching for an escaped renegade called Barry O'Day. Oh? And what does he look like, sir? None of our people have ever seen him. But from descriptions I should say he is about your build and about your height. And hair about my color and my color eyes. Colonel Lester, there has been no one here this night. Then who might this gentleman be? Gentleman? Oh, I'm no gentleman. I'm the groom. And I've been with the family. How many years has it been, my lady? Is this true, Miss Eileen? Yes. For the sake of our friendship in London, Miss Eileen, I shall take you at your word. Good night. You're a brave one. I lied to him. I lied to attire and his truth in the Patriot's book. And whenever we tricked him, outwit or outnumber them, hamper them, hinder them, hasten them out of the Emerl Isle, every Irishman rejoices, Eileen. For it means the hour of victory is drawn nearer. Glad triumphant hour. May the tyrant spur on every stand. On dawn at steel. Glad to fight for our land. Do you recognize that song? It's On Top of Old Smoky, one of my favorite folk songs. And perhaps one of yours. It's a love song in a way. You remember this verse. She'll hug you and kiss you. And cross ties on a ray. Four stars in the sky. There aren't as many cross ties on the railroads as there are stars in the sky. But there are an awful lot of them. More than a billion in the United States, in fact. And they're mighty important to the hundreds of members of the American Railway Engineering Association who are getting together in Chicago tonight for their annual meeting this week. These men are concerned with the problems of building, maintaining and improving railroad tracks and structures. In carrying on this research, 225,000 miles of railroad in this country is their proving ground, the world's largest. And better, more efficient railroad service for all of us is their goal. Take cross ties, for example. About 30 million of them have to be removed every year and replaced with new ones. And it costs about $5 to replace each tie. Anything therefore that can be done to lengthen the life of a tie represents a considerable saving in money. And thanks largely to the research activities of the American Railway Engineering Association, improvements in the treatment and handling of cross ties have been so great in the past 50 years as to multiply the average life of a tie about three times. Now that's just one of an endless series of results achieved through the constant research carried on by the railroads. The kind of research that continues to make the American railroads the most efficient and economical and safest transportation system in the world. Here is act two of the Lawrence and Lee dramatization of Victor Herbert's Eileen, starring Gordon Macrae as Barry O'Day and Lucille Norman as Eileen. It is a great day tonight for the Irish for the cause we've fought for and died. When you'll see all Ireland free it is the land of our love and our pride. We despise and defy and attire and flaws we will fight. For as fast as they can make them for God, a week and break them show the Irish have a great day tonight. Tears of love they can make them. Near his hand. You should be wearing a grin on that Irish face. Good news is bad news me buckle. I've got to leave Ireland. Leave Ireland? I see you're not in your right mind me boy. There's people in France, Sean, who can help us with the cost. And I've been appointed to make the journey. A bloomin' ambassador. Tell me, will we have to bow and salute you Mr O'Day? Oh, never, never. It's that sad I'll be to leave the shores of Ireland. And Eileen, you'll be missing her too no doubt. It is true. It's a thought provoking thing Sean, how a man's heart gets caught up with smiles and scenery and the memory of a kiss or two. And your head over heals in love with a Colleen and the country she comes from. Tears are hard to say goodbye. When for, while my soul There's no other spot I know It is the foolish thing I know, but I've got to see Eileen before I leave Ireland. Dear Ben. Eileen. I'm that glad to see I am. But she should never have come. I'm off for the continent Eileen. And heaven knows when I'll see you again, Alana. But Colonel Lester's suspicious. He's had guards posted watching the house ever since the night when you... The nights when you posed as a groom. Wasn't that it, Barry O'Day? Colonel Lester. Let me get a good look at you. So that's what a rebel looks like. Pray, Colonel Lester, for the sake of our old friendship, you'll not take him. You'll not take me alive at any rate. Put away your toys. As you can see, I have no weapons. A trick it is then, a cowardly Tory trick. You misjudge us, Mr. O'Day. You talk like a man with a price on his head. There is. A thousand pounds for Barry O'Day. Dead or alive. No longer. What? I'm taking my leave of this pestil island and Lord Cornwallis is taking my place. His first act as governor of Ireland is to grant full pardon to all persons connected with the Irish rebellion. Glory be. Then they won't be after hunting you down anymore like a fox in a brush. Isn't it glorious, Barry, to be a free man? Faith, and I wouldn't know about that, Eileen. Aren't you happy? You won't have to leave Ireland. He headers me on again. It is true. And there's no price on it. But now, my sweet, I've lost an equally valuable piece of property. My heart. What a foolish one you are now, Barry O'Day. You can have mine. We'll be back just a moment. Meanwhile, our hearty thanks to Carlton Young, Donald Hurley, he and our entire company. Eileen with music by Victor Herbert and book and lyrics by Henry Blossom was dramatized for the railroad hour by Lawrence and Lee. The railroad hour is brought to you each week at this same time by the American Railroads. Marvin? To most of us, the word railroad calls to mind freight and passenger trains highballing across the countryside. But equally important to a railroad is the track on which the trains run, the rail, the ties, the roadbed. For it would not be possible to handle the heavy traffic of today without the constant improvement that has been made in track. This work, which is carried down by such railroad organizations as the American Railway Engineering Association, is important to all of us, to better railroad service tomorrow. Thank you, Marvin. Now folks here again as our bright young guest, Lucy O'Norman. The happy half hour wasn't it, Gordon? Oh, some mighty pretty music, Eileen. And Lucy, you were one of those always. Well, thanks. What'll we be hearing on the show train next week, Gordon? Well, I'll be trading in my Irish daily for an oriental lute. A lute? Mm-hmm. We're doing a lovely story of the Far East called Lute Song. And maybe Benzel will be with us to sing some music that sounds like this. Here you need me. I will be here by mountain high. I promise to be listening, Gordon. Good night. Good night, Lucy. We'll see you soon. All aboard! Well, dear friends, it looks as though we're ready to pull out and so until next Monday night in Lute Song, this is your friend Gordon Macrae saying, Good night. Eileen was presented by special arrangement with the Tams Whitmark Music Library. Gordon Macrae can soon be seen starring in the Technicolor production of the Desert Song. A choir was under the direction of Norman Luboff and our music was prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. Until next week, this is Marvin Miller saying, Good night for the American Railroads. Now stay tuned for your Monday night of music on NBC.