Railway music

[Sipat]

Music by Dave Goulder (an ex fireman) my favourite being 'eight freight blues'

"smoke in my eye, soot in my hair,
Cinders in my shoes
watching the needle falling away
singin' the eight freight blues"

or 'Requiem for Steam'

"O Britannias and Jubilees, Compounds and Crabs
Have been taken away from the shed
And along with the clipper, the coach and the cab
They speak of an age that is dead
For some are away to be mounted and stuffed
While others are butchered and sold
And the steamraiser's gone for the very last time
And his brazier's broken and cold"

[GroupC]

One of Chris Rea's early albums was called "Deltics".

[scotsoft]

Marakesh Express - CSN&Y

[keerout]

Traveling by steam, fairport convention:

Fairport Convention - Travelling By Steam
Gerard.

[Cutter]

From the 50s, Freight Train by Les Paul and Marie Ford.

[Newportnobby]

I bet no other song has ever mentioned "Beattock".

Not sure Didn't Michael Jackson have a hit with that

[GroupC]

Just thought of this one too: The Clash, Train in Vain.


The Clash - Train in Vain

[GroupC]

... and this list may keep you going for a bit...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_train_songs

[GroupC]

... and absentmindedly gazing at my CD's just now this gem popped into my mind: Daly City Train by Rancid. Ska punk rockers. Can't go wrong.


Daly City Train- Rancid

[Pengi]

Desiro by U2 

[MattJ]

If you like a bit of old-school Prog in something of a Gabriel-era-Genesis style, you might like to check this out:

Big Big Train - East Coast Racer

Big Big Train - English Electric Part 2 - East Coast Racer

[Plainline.]

Here's some from my music collection
'"Mystery Train" and Frankfort  Special"' by Elvis, "Last Train to Expo 67" by Duke Reid,  " Down Bound Train" by chuck Berry and "Les Chants Magnetiques Pt 4" by Jean Michel Jarre", you'll have to listen to this one to see why I included it!

[Komata]

Although it's not the sort of song you can listen-to while running your trains, (well, not normally), this might be of interest.

There are some songs which enter a national conciousness, and what follows is one of these.  It's a New Zealand folk song / ballad called 'Taumarunui (Correctly Tow (rhymes with Cow)-mah-roo-noo-ee, but pronounced by most Kiwi's as Tamm-rah-noo-ee) On The Main Trunk Line', as sung by Pat Rogers.

To get the full picture, some background is necessary:

Until the 1960's Taumarunui (which is a small town located in the middle of New Zealand's North Island) was the site of a major locomotive depot , and a  'Refreshment Room'. The town was very much a 'railway town' and the locomotive depot formed a pivotal part of the central section of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, the official name for the railway line connecting Wellington (the capital) and Auckland (the largest city)  This song was written in 1958.  At that time there were no 'dining cars' on the railway system and as passengers on the trains got hungry on what is a long trip (12 hours, normally) , the New Zealand Railways (NZR)  established places at various stations along the line where the train passengers could get off, purchase food and re-train.   These 'feeding places' were termed 'Refreshment Rooms' and (for a price) dispensed hot tea, coffee, pies and cakes to the passengers on the passing trains. They were staffed by locally-recruited young women (for whom little other work was available due to the remoteness of the area) all dressed in a matching uniform and looking very smart as a result. The 'Refreshment Room' idea was a wonderful one, and (for those old enough to remember them) were somewhat similar to the old Lyons' Corner Houses, although a lot more hectic at certain times as will be seen) The trains stopped for 10 minutes at such places, and  the unloading, purchasing and re-training of 600-plus people (now carrying food and hot drinks), could result in scenes which were somewhat chaotic.

At the time that the song's  'story' occurred, the premier passenger trains on the NZR's North Island railway system were four overnight expresses, two running northwards from Wellington to Auckland and from Auckland to Wellington. As already noted, these trains were usually carrying at least 600 people each. Distance and scheduling meant that they all passed through Taumarunui between 2300-0200, stopping as they did so so that people could visit the 'Refreshment Rooms.   Because of this, Taumarunui became notorious as being a 'cold 'ole' where at around midnight, half-awake passengers were compelled to stagger-off the trains to purchase food and then re-train.  As such it entered the national conciousness, aided and abetted by this song.  To most Kiwi's, (especially those of the Baby Boomer generation), mention of Taumarunui will bring a response of familiarity with the town name, (although the refreshment rooms are long extinct) and possibly a singing of the opening line of the Chorus (Taumarunui, Taumarunui etc. etc.) ....

BTW, as local colloquialisms can be confusing, herewith an interpretation:

'Refreshments': The abbreviated word for the Refreshment Rooms
Sheila: The term 'Sheila' was the then-current Kiwi term for a young female of 'marriageable' age.  Thankfully it has fallen into disuse...
'Ordinary Joker' : Ordinary Bloke/ Guy
'Pop-off': Go to
'She'd be Jake': Everything would be OK
Flaming: a polite variation on a well-known F-word...
The Limited Express': The premier express train. for which you paid a bit more, and (supposedly, because the passenger numbers were 'limited' by the cost- hence the name) received better service, and had fewer stops en route.

And yes, I DO realise  that Pat Roger's singing is appalling (but it was a typical Kiwi accent of the time)

BTW, the loco in the image is a Ka (Kay A) class 4-8-4, specifically the preserved and still running Ka 945.  The Ka's were synonymous with the Limited Express services during the later years of steam operation over the section of the North Island  Main Trunk railway  passing through Taumarunui

Finally, although Taumarunui residents at first hated the song, believing it portrayed them in a poor light, they now sing it with with pride....

Sorry about the long post, but I hope that the song will be of interest.


Peter Cape - Taumarunui (On The Main Trunk Line)