Well it seems Strayhorn submitted A Train to Ellington in December 1938 according to one www site another site says 1941. Give me a few minutes and I'll tell you the answer from another list I belong to - its a jazz list. On Feb 24, 2005, at 12:43 PM, George Thompson wrote: I am abashed. I should have thought that Billy Strayhorn wrote "Take the A Train" in 1941. GAT George A. Thompson Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately. ----- Original Message ----- From: [log in to unmask] Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 10:28 am Subject: Underground Sidewalks of New York In a message dated 2/22/05 10:13:40 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: I don't think that the subway lines got alphabetic designations until well after WWII. George, you're kiddin' me! You still reading those darned 19th century newspapers? Hey when you get up to 1932, when the IND opened, you will find the first letter designations, beginning with the first letter of the alphabet, associated with the IND. Hence, the "A" train, the major express route on the line. sign me, your admirer, Christopher Gray aka Billy Strayhorn 0000,0000,DDDDJazz is freedom. - T. Monk