tale in which Cal S. Bunyan, Paul Bunyan's brother, constructed a railroad known as the Ireland, Jerusalem, Australian & Southern Michigan Line. After two months of service, the 700-car train was traveling so fast that it arrived at its destination an hour before its departure. Finally, the train took off so fast that it rushed into outer space and where, for all that is known, it is still traveling. Lyrics Over many years, this popular song's music has remained unchanged while the verses have been updated by song artists. As early as 1882, sheet music titled "The Great Rock Island Route" was credited to J. A. Roff. This version and all subsequent versions contain a variation of this chorus: A rewritten version by William Kindt appeared in 1904 under the title "Wabash Cannon Ball". Namesakes In the wake of the song's popularity, the Wabash Railroad renamed its daytime express run between Detroit and St. Louis as the Wabash Cannon Ball in 1949, the only actual train to bear the name, which it carried until the creation of Amtrak in 1971, when it was discontinued. However, the train was named after the song, not the other way around. On October 26 and 27, 2013, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Road 765, in conjunction with the Norfolk Southern Railway's "21st Century Steam" program, pulled a 225-mile round-trip excursion, retracing the Cannon Ball's former route between Fort Wayne and Lafayette, Indiana. A roller coaster at the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park was titled after the song as well. It was operated from 1975 to 1997. In 1998, after Opryland's closing, the double cork-screw coaster was relocated to Old Indiana Fun-n-Water Park in Thorntown, Indiana. In 2003, it was moved into storage. Use in collegiate sports "The Wabash Cannonball" (arranged by Joel Leach) is known as the unofficial "second" fight song of Kansas State University, having been played since the late 1960s. It was the only piece of sheet music rescued from the KSU music department in the Nichols Hall fire of 1968, and grew in popularity with students and fans. The Kansas State University Marching Band says that "the Wabash Cannonball has come to represent the survival of the underdog in the hearts and minds of all true K-State fans, and has earned a secure place in the KSUMB's history and traditions." Currently Kansas State is the prime contributing player of