who laid the rail
adv. phr.— «Hon. James Watson of Rushville, Ind., talked longer than any one. He praised the Republican party and declared that it was the only progressive party from the time of George Washington until who laid the rail.» —“M’Kinley Defends His Labor Position” Decatur Review (Illinois) Nov. 1, 1910. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A listener named Mark now lives in San Diego, California, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. There, he recalls, when he and his friends played sandlot baseball, cards, or board games, if an opponent tried to get around the rules and then got called...
David from Matthews, North Carolina, grew up using the term cheese toastie for a type of grilled cheese sandwich. Cheese toasties are familiar in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, particularly around the cities of Decatur and Springfield. In the UK...