 Ladies and gentlemen, the railroad hour. Here comes our star-studded show train. Tonight, the Association of American Railroads presents an American light opera by Lawrence and Lee. Roaring Camp, a tale of the American West, said to the great music of Borgia, starring Gordon MacRae and his celebrated guest Dorothy Warren Scholl. Our choir is under the direction of Norman Muboff, and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. Yes, tonight another exciting drama with music is brought to you by the American Railroads. The same railroads that bring you the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the fuel you burn, and the multitude of other things you use in your daily life. And now here is our star, Gordon MacRae. And good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Bret Hart gave us the inspiration for tonight's railroad hour, and Anton Dvorak provides the music that Dorothy Warren Scholl and I will sing in the next half hour. And here's Roaring Camp. Gold! Gold up in the theaters! Gold! A hundred years ago, that cry of gold went up in California, and a hundred thousand men pulled up stakes and started to rush westward. Look, there's a 49er, rhyming up the high ground with his Conestoga wagon and his Pinto pony, making the long trip west. Hey, somebody fetch some water for my horses! Hey! Well, now what's so funny, ma'am? If you expect your horses to be watered, you'd better see to it yourself. Even the stableboys went off to the hills to look for gold. Am I coming into the gold country? It's been the ruin of this town. Oh, how come? When the gold strike came, every honest business and poker flat went out the window, and the law of something you read about in books. Sounds like my kind of country. But I didn't expect to find women folks out here. Not pretty ones at any rate. Well, I came out here three years ago with my father from Boston. Boston, huh? That's what they call me. Boston Wagner. You don't talk like a New Englander. Well, they call me Boston, because that's the only town in the U.S.A. I ain't never seen. Oh. I'd like to meet your dad and your family. I want to make some friends out here. I'm afraid that won't be possible. You see, my father died last month in a gunfight. I'm sorry to hear that. It's terribly lonesome without him, and so far away from everything I used to know. I understand. Listen for me. It's hard and it's yellow. Now, come 2,000 miles to find it. It won't make you happy. It'll help. It applies to you, ma'am, if you tell me which road leads to Rowan Camp. Of course. You're not going there. They told me it was the richest old country in the mother load. Now, it's the size of a man's fist. Oh, please. Please, don't go. Well, now, thanks for the advice, ma'am. I don't scare easy. You mean you're going to Rowan Camp anyway? That's right, miss. But don't make any bets about me coming out feet first. You'll see me again, ma'am. And often. Everybody seems to be asleep. Well, I'll wake them up. Why? What's the trouble? What's going on? Oh, Rick, and you're a stranger to Rowan Camp. That's right. We don't much like strangers. Well, I didn't come here to be liked. You got any money? I'll have more when I leave. I'll give you 6 to 5. It's a boy. Don't follow you, mister. Well, you see that cabin down in the holler? That's Cherokee South, Captain. She's having herself a baby. A baby? Ain't it the doggoneest thing? A baby getting herself born at Rowan Camp. Now, who's taking care of the mother? Nobody. She's all alone in there? Ain't no other woman folk in town. Well, I'll get a woman to come up here. I doubt that. Not to Rowan Camp. Oh, I'll find somebody. If you'll guarantee her a safe conduct. I'll give you a gambler's word. That's good enough. And you're going to let me stake my claim no worse than any other minor in the camp. How about it? What do you think, King Tuck? Well, if you'll get us a woman to care for Sal. Here's my hand on it. I'll be back by midnight. You grab the horse, King Tuck. I'll help the lady. Hold! Hold on! I got him! I got him! What must I do? Men, this is Miss Elvira Brigham. You got to mind her as if she was a federal marshal. She's in the cabin. Go help her. Well, I need water. Hot water and towels. Towels? What's them? You know, King Tuck. Hand-wiping rag. Oh, why? Sure, I'll get the woman from the tavern. They have to be clean towels, King Tuck. No time to waste. Sal needs help mighty bad. Hey, that's a baby! How about it, men? Three chairs for a baby. What do you think this is? A county fair? It's sorry, ma'am, on account of the baby coming. I guess we just lost our heads. Is it a boy or a girl? A boy. I know it would be. Now pay up, Captain. You owe me an ounce of gold. What language do you pay for your men to respect the dead? The dead? The baby. Oh, the baby's fine. But Cherokee, Sal... Who is Sal? Now I want all of you to get out of here. Go to your cab and be quiet. Yes, ma'am. So the baby can get some sleep. Come on, boys, let's do what Miss Brigham says. One of the summer morning in the lovely Catskill Mountains of New York State. A peaceful and pretty sight. At least it seems so to engineer Clark Bonesdale from the cab of his two-unit diesel engine, which is pulling a 70-car freight train through the quiet valley. When the town fire siren located in the firehouse right next door to the chief's house answered with its own scream of warning, engineer Bonesdale, knowing his job was done, picked up speed, and went about his regular business of delivering the nation's freight. Engineer Bonesdale was credited by the town fire chief with saving literally hundreds of lives by his quick and resourceful actions in getting the guests out of the hotel, which was destroyed in the million-dollar fire. And engineer Bonesdale is just one of many thousands of railroad people who night and day, month in and month out in every part of the country make it their business to be of the greatest possible service to the communities and customers they serve. Here is act two of the lorinsomely light-up reversion of Bret Hart's roaring camp set to the music of bourgeois and starring Gordon McRae with his guest Dorothy Warren's show. How is the little tight? Did you ever see such a heavenly face? You know, some of the boys wanted if they could come in and sort of take a look at him. Oh, they're so rough and rowdy. Oh, I'll make them tell the line. Well, when you get them all here, there's a speech I want to make to them. Citizens of roaring camp, I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Miss Elvira Brigham for taking care of the baby. Men, do you expect me to stay here in roaring camp? And take care of the baby without you. Then we'll have to make some changes around here. You, with that char tobacco, what's your name? Well, they call me King Chuck. When was the last time you changed that shirt? Well, I ain't kept track sometime in the late fall, I reckon. What year, King Chuck? You listen to me, King Chuck. Anytime you want to see the baby, you've got to hustle out a clean shirt. A clean shirt. And what's your name? You don't look like a mining man. I'm of the gambling profession, ma'am. They call me a gentleman John O'Curse. Is that a diamond stick pin in your tie? Three carats, ma'am, without a flaw. Many have admired it, ma'am. You can still admire it, Mr. O'Curse, but it belongs to the baby now. What? Every man in roaring camp has to contribute something to the support of the baby. How about it? Well, I'll give a pound of gold to us, ma'am. I'll throw in my pearl handle down just. Or he can have my gold watch that charms the hour. Well, the stick pin you admired, ma'am, is paced. May I offer you this diamond ring worth $2,000? I appreciate your honesty, Mr. O'Curse. Now, if you'll all form a single line, you may file into the cabin one at a time to see the baby. Mr. Kaintuck, you will be the first. Well, don't go. I ain't excited now. Come on with me. Be that he. That's the baby. Well, not much for size, huh? Ain't more about the color, has he? Hey, look at that. He wrestled with my finger, the dog, little critter. He wrestled with my finger. That's the man-a-law, Jack. Hey, man. Big news. What's all the excitement? I just come from the Dye Port, the old claim we thought was run out. It's full of gold, boy. A gold, a fortune, a never-spade thing. It's full of gold. It's full of gold. It's full of gold. It's full of dirt. Oh, I tell you, boy, the luck is with it. Is it in the child? Child or child? Cup passing novelty. It's a baby boy, that's all. Well, ain't that a wonder now? What do you call them? We ain't got my name yet. Say, man, I got an idea. Listen, my boy and camp. Listen, Dye's. Here is a name to give. We call him luck. Or he's the luck of Roaring Camp. Here's a toast, gentlemen, we can both. He's the most beautiful baby boy. The mountains and the score. Shall we christen him the luck? Yeah! You got to give him a birth name. Tommy, then. We call him Tommy Luck of Roaring Camp. You know, it makes the fella feel kind of strange. Why, Boston? Well, this isn't quite my line, exactly. Shopping for baby clothes. Oh, it's sweet of you to drive me to Sacramento. Do you like this little flowered bond at Boston? Oh, sure, sure. It's pretty fancy for the luck, though, isn't it? Well, it's not for the baby. It's for me. Look, Miss Elvire, let me buy it for you. I wish I could buy you everything in this store. Everything in Sacramento. There's a noise out there. No, I'll find out. Hey, you hear about the flood? Flood where? Up in the gold country, quick for the Sierras. Hook a flat rid-dog, all of them towns under six feet of water. What about Roaring Camp? It must be near washed away by now. Elvire, you stay here, I'll ride back fast as I can. I'll pull you up in the boat, Boston. What's happened to Roaring Camp? Gone. I've been rowing around trying to pick up survivors. The luck, oh Christ. What happened to luck? There, the bottom of the hole. King Tuck and the baby? They are. They took the boat a few minutes ago. They've been in the water for hours, clinging to a crystal. King Tuck? When a dog gone a little, little critty, he wouldn't wrestle with it with my finger. The baby's dead, King Tuck. I'm dying too, ain't I, boy? Now lie back, King Tuck. Maybe the luck's taking me with him. I'm going with the luck. What wouldn't let it be true? Now, the ways of the Lord are mighty strange, Miss Elvire. I'd like to think maybe the luck came into the world to help us find each other. A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant trees, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. There'll be another luck someday, Miss Elvire. Only Perry won't belong to Roaring Cantland. I hope he'll just belong to us, Miss Elvire. Oh, love, the sharpest loss in time. And the pain becomes a distant landmark. Lovely, Dorothy Warren Show, we'll be back in just one moment. And meanwhile, our thanks to Ted DeCorsia, Peter Leeds, Marian Richmond, Marvin Miller, and to our entire company. Roaring Camp, suggested by the Bret Hart story, was set to music, adapted to themes from the Boiseach's New World Symphony, with lyrics and libretto by Lawrence and Lee. The power is brought to you each week at the same time by the American railroads. Marvin? America, with its vast distances and huge productive capacities, has always depended on railroads to take care of most of its transportation. And that will continue to be true as far ahead as we can see. The railroads will never stand still in a nation of growing population and growing economic activity. As America moves ahead, so will the railroads, steadily enlarging their capacity to meet increasing demands for service, and steadily increasing their efficiency of operation, to cope with constantly rising costs of doing business. Thank you, Marvin. Jolly, Gordon, what's on the show train next Monday night? Dorothy, it's a story of the gay 90s with music like this. And the story is called Hope is a Woman. Well, I'll get into my buffalo and meet you here next Monday. Good night, Gordon. Good night, Dorothy. As always, you were wonderful. All aboard! Well, dear friends, it looks as though we're ready to pull out. And so until next Monday night in the world premiere of Hope is a Woman, on behalf of the other members of the cast and the American railroads, this is your friend Gordon McRae saying good night. Gordon McRae can be seen starring in Warner Brothers' The Desert Song in Technicolor. Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff, and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon. This is Marvin Miller saying goodbye until next week for the American Railroad. Now, stay tuned for your Monday night of music on NBC. The Voice of Firestone features Mildred Miller on NBC.