"The Great Rock Island Route", popularized as "Wabash Cannonball" and various other titles, is a 19th century American folk song that describes the scenic beauty and predicaments of a fictional train, the Wabash Cannonball Express, as it traveled on the Great Rock Island Railroad. The song has become a country music staple and common marching band repertoire. The only train to actually bear the name was created in response to the song's popularity, with the Wabash Railroad renaming its daytime express service between Detroit and St. Louis as the Wabash Cannon Ball from 1949 until discontinuation during the formation of Amtrak in 1971.