THUNDERING RAILS

[Music] [Music] somewhere in the silence of the night a child's lovers peaceful somewhere a child hears the sound of a train the lonely wailing of the whistle the long heavy Russian rumble of the wheels [Music] and nothing but silence darkness the huge rush and secrecy of night the running sweep of moonlight silhouettes the countryside and the long slender bands of Steel shine and leave only the tracks are awake they hear the sobbing siren of the fast Express they look for danger in the sudden players they see the swing and Bob of lantern in the arts the coil and shudder beneath the sudden glare and hysts of the mighty engines they pumps that of the pounding rhythm of the huge driving rods upon their cold steel surface the Transcontinental limited stroking a hundred miles an hour across the continent and the small dark towns whipped by like bullets and there is only two Starks island to the secret immense and lonely earth again America is a land of trades joined by a steel network of rail and wire woven into miles of multiple patties great trained chefs tense with smoke and accurate with its spell full of the slow panting of a dozen Asian rows of silent cars along the platform their windows dark their wheels Akhter helpless cars waiting for engines to give them life and mobility impatient cars eagerly awaiting purpose and destination America is the land of stations high in roofed mighty stations with their intricate webs of girder glass and concrete filled with a million watts of yellow light reflecting off the slick right covers of magazines of the newsstand shining on the cold marble floors mighty stations with their ceaseless problems endless tides of humanity guided by man-made timetables Epping and flowing forever here is woven the tapestry of America on the moon a little child standing for lured by a pile of Bank an anxious old couple in front of the arrival in departure board the hellos goodbyes handshakes clasped arms kisses restrained kisses unabashed farewell sab as a youngster leaves for an army camp the homemade cake under his arm gay the honeymoon couple embarks amid wilted flowers best wishes and a shower of rice all are people going to and coming from meeting for an instant exchanging a hurried glance studying timetables Ammerman apology and then on to a destination never to meet again and the sounds of a station underneath the shuffling of thousands of feet my tattoo of hiding a sudden shriek of laughter a horse monotone voice of the loud speakers straining to be heard over the deal the excitement of a station with all the murmurous and remote sounds of time the hint of faraway places the thrill of strange name the anticipation a feeling of nervous tension as the hands of the clock reached the appointed hour it is the mood of movement a world of nameless excitement and wordless expectancy the conductor hurries down the platform the train is ready for its run trains cross the continent in a swirl of dust and thunder they cleave through gumption gully they spread plunder along the trestles above Browne shorn beans they ripped past empty stations of little town and their great wide sound is felt across America [Music] the rails go westward [Music] have you ever heard the wheel Thunder of the mighty engine [Music] [Applause] [Music] the great iron oxen of the railroad [Music] powerful and mighty engines safe and they breathe they fume with the effort of their tremendous vibrations snorting with rage when they're halted sighing with resignation as they wait for the blast that releases them sending them hurtling forward engines are iron steel copper aluminum mixtures of ores extracted from the earth and twisted and hardened into a thousand parts that go into its body do you think an engine is devoid of feeling of emotion then look a herd of monsters has broken loose down the tracks they Thunder racing for joy bellowing challenges to each other roaring and posting of their strength and speed like the herds of wild tough skin buffalo that used to roam the West but Buffalo Bill is now a faded legend and the boy dreams of another hero the engineer of a steam locomotive he dreams of the 550 rolling into town of waving to the smiling figure in the cat proudly cherishing the casual friendly greetings of his eye tonight anticipates the sudden shock and thrill as the tiny spurts of steam grow in force and sound and intensity as the engine gathers speed and roars past the station dragging all light and color and boyish drum in its way a coal miner the lumbermen the wheat farmer sees a giant locomotive swings slowly around the bend and with short powerful explosive flashes from its funnel it gathers speed and lunges forward minor the lumbermen the farmer pause in there later he is awestruck at the terrific drive of a flock piston wheels a savage furnace flare of heat hard thick hisses steam a moment's vision of a lean old head a gloved hand of planning on the throttle and the blackened pace of the firemen trained by an intermittent fury of flames as he bends and sways at his furnace door the modern diesel driven locomotive speeds across the slender ribbons of Steel hitting a speed of a hundred miles an hour it is the first real rival of steam on the railroad the diesel is a silver flash across the Prairie the streamlined wind splitter must be challenging the elements devouring space called a racing time Abbey's beam workmen life is rightly sterile as the modern kitchen no longer the red part trade but now the frames older than calculated signals of sinked each awardee he a reassurance de the engineer watches the dials he turns to glance at the countryside rushing by in a blur of once familiar shapes in sight both mcbuster old suddenly becomes alive [Music] [Applause] safety signals spring into action automatic guardians of the road there are right away with fabulous world of wheels unveils awake of Leaning track a switched our sentinel of safety high ball the onrushing trade speeding tonnes of Steel distort and blur the landscape through widgets slashes a train all through the day in a fast Express roars over the silvery bands the Train toils around mountain curves sometimes in a slow art that from the rear car revealed the engine tiny and toy light in the distance it shudders through giant passes the high walls of stained rock shutting out the light and threatening to engulf the long steel skinned intruder sometimes the train slows then it gathers speed for the tremendous burst of power as if to make up for lost time impatient to get out of the mountain anxious to hurdle the restraining Gulch Gorgons gaps and wild ravines the Train Labor's slowly down the mountain trains feeling its way along the sinuous turnings as if crawling down the back of an enormous serpent then suddenly the train is on the flat again gathering speed to race across the level land booming bursting with power the great wheels pound and splashed across the Prairie it cuts through giant forests [Music] it splits the peels of beaten corn a frightened cows campers for safety [Music] [Applause] the huge beams of trestle bridges shudder under the impact the slender bridge of Steel sways out of the strain [Music] the wind ruffled surface of a river puzzly mirrors the onrushing monster a tugboat toots a grieving [Music] a sparkle fisherman has to rebate his hook son brown boys ceased their swimming and splashing to stare in all it is more than a train crossing a river it is a giant leap from shore to shore the training foods upon the serene brooding of a quietly delicate is skirting the shore its whistled apologizing for the noise and the rush in the steam and the raw power a deer stops drinking at the water's edge it's liquid eyes filled with beer a plaintive wild fowl arise from the Russians honking in protest [Music] then just as quickly as it came the monster is gone Nature has slammed the door and all is quiet again and all the while space is being hungrily devoured the three dimensions are being gulped down in huge chunks by the fourth time is fought to a standstill held to the limits of a timetable the plainest hovering across the colors a huge projectile fired from the atlantic to the pacific in flat trajectory a hardshell tube in which people live and sleep playing and make friends eat and work [Music] the Train is a city on the move what a borrow something from your next-door neighbor don't shout over the fence lean across the aisle and ask you the men who run the city on wheels are always on the job City Hall is downtown in the engine with his honor the mayor and his post is engineered want to see the post office the mail sorters are busy making up the delivery for the next stop or perhaps they'll just throw it on disdaining to slacken the pace for some small sleepy town where's Police Headquarters in the hard round blue cap of the conductor responsible for order and safety these are some of the people who run the city on the move is the Train justify the city was there ever a city in which citizens lived in paying awareness at the Matt surge of Earth going by and tremendous speed how long does it take to walk from your seat to the watercooler a few seconds to cover 30 feet and yet you've gone nearly a mile did you fall asleep in New Jersey don't be shocked if you wake up in a fire were you looking at the state of Iowa while having suit in the diner and you might have dessert in Nebraska 15 miles per course is pretty good eating brain is thundering across the country trains our neighbors a pinpoint in the distance grows and grows and becomes another train roaring plunging over the rails [Music] and the train is gone in one particular smash of wind black pure trains our neighbors if a train is named Jones another wants to keep up with it so for miles the two trains Thunder down the tracks in an even filling tremendous contest of Steel of dust and whirling readings gradually one pain boar's it's way past the other foot by foot and now as if with three collected force the Train gains power from the Train of this past it leaps gathers Springs and smashes on with newfound fury at length the train has breached the last great wall of the soaring ranges has made it sinuous descent around the powerful bends and corkscrews of the shining rail [Music] towering Rangers melt swiftly into darkness night envelops the train the tracks and the land and the train takes up its level pounding rhythm across the swell and convolution of the mighty continent on board the passengers settle down for the run through darkness first sarbanes the clicking of the wheels the slight roll in rock weeds a lullaby and drowsy rhythm vaguely aware of the secrets of the rattling past big green curtains low tones of the porter gathering up the shoes bleh wailing whistle has the lights of a little town whiz by like a trail of comets the Train moves on across the immense lonely night land of America making it's great fun at all that is the sound of power and security and in the train and in the ten thousands of town the sleepers sleep upon the earth [Music]