Railroad Tycoon is the classic Sid Meier (the man behind Cilivization) game from 1990. The object of the game is to manage a railroad company. Building tracks and trains and expanding the companys wealth and power. The game is advanced with handling of passengers, goods and even has a small stock market.

You have to consider a lot of different possibilities to earn as much money as possible. Is it worth to upgrade the trains to faster, shall I want until the bilk trains is full or should i send it on its way right now?

The game dot really good reviews and was voted one of the best games of that year.

Lets change the tempo for a while.

I always liked Megadeth, I felt kind of sorry for Dave Mustaine in the Metallica – Megadeth story. Train of Consequences from the album Youthanasia is typical for that album. The tempo is slowed down for beeing Megadeth, the lyrics are thoughtful. He covers topics like despair and incest.

One could even say that Youthanasia is Megadeths answer to Metallicas Black Album. Its not as thrashy as previous albums, instead Mustain steers the band away from the drug driven 80s to a new 90s Megadeth. I like both the old as well as the new but some hardcore never agreed with the change.

Tom Waits is a jack of all trades. Music, poetry, actor.
With a growly but beautiful voice he gives the down and out characters of his music life. I have only seen Tom Waits in a single movie, the wonderful Mystery Men. Here he plays an eccentric weapons designer who only designs non lethal weapons. Some of his creations are canned tornado, shrinkgun that uses dry cleaning technology to shrink a persons clothes sp they can not move and The Blame Gun.

Tom waits is worth to listen to, give him a chance and dont look back.

Runaway Train was the first big Hit for Soul Asylum and earned them a Grammy for best Rock Song in 1994. I wouldnt describe Runaway Train as a rock song but who cares . Soul Asylum got a couple of more hits over the years but not with any songs that I can remember. I would like to call them a One Hit Wonder but that is up for discussion.

I read a bit about the children in the video. Some of them have been reunited with their families but some of them have been found murdered. There was one case that one of the children claimed that Soul Asylum had ruined her life because her boyfriend saw her in the video and she was returned to a bad home situation.

A great song, a great music video.

The Doobie Brothers played this song fro almost 3 year live before they released it in the 1973 album The Captain And Me. According to Tom Johnston who wrote the song he had lots of difficulties to get the lyrics good. He changed it back and forth, even ad libbing lyrics on stage sometimes. With al that time and work, you should think that the lyrics would be better. Maybe to many Doobies

”Down around the corner half a mile from here
see them both feet run and you watch them dissapear
without love where would you be now
without love
though i saw miss lucy down along the track
she lost her home and her family and she won t be coming back
without love where would you be now
without love
with the feeling always central and the southern central freight
you got to keep on pushing mamma you know there running late
without love where would you be now
without love
when the pistons keep on turning and go round and round
and the steel reels are cold and hard and the moutain ain t no down
without love where would you be now
without love”

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is really funny but also somewhat tragic story about Neal Page, played by the incredible Steve Martin, who just wants to get home to see his family on thanksgiving. Due to bad weather the flight is cancelled and he tries just about everything to get home. He hooks up with the blabbermouth Shower Curtain Ring Salesman Del Griffith, played by the late John Candy.

While Neil a an uptight businessman, Del doesn’t have any trouble at all. Or maybe he as?

Of course there is a lesson to be learned on the way as well. It is a warm movie with harsh language about how to overcome differences.

Both Steve Martin and John Candy, rest his sole, are comic geniuses. Put together, what can go wrong?

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train

A classic intro to a great song.
The song is written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhodes and Bod Daisley. This song is a milestone in heavy metal. It was the first single fron Ozzy Osbourne after he left Black Sabbath. In my humble opinion its also one of the best heavy metal riffs EVER.

Here is the lyrics so you can sing along.

”All aboard! Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!

Mental wounds not healing
Who and what’s to blame
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train”

Its about a boring book editor that think he witness a murder on a Train. Obviously no one believes him so he starts investigating the matter on his own. That turns out to be a big mistake as he gets the murderers attention.

It was some time since a saw this movie but I remember it as a funny and thrilling action comedy. The reason i write about this gem is because its the first movie I saw that took place on a train. And the team of Gene Wilder and Richar Pryor always gives you what you want. I dont know if the movie has aged with dignity or not, and I dont want to know either. I want to remember it as a really enjoyable movie so I wont spoil it by seeing it again .

Silver Streak

I found out about Porcupine Tree just a couple of months ago, I had missed them completely. The first song I heard was Trains.
I immediately got permanently lodged into my brain, I just love that song. It starts out soft and accoustic. Then at 1:05 it just starts rocking but is still kind of soft. There a a lots of ways you can interpret the lyrics but I think you should let the great vocal do the talking.

Porcupine Tree – Trains

”Train set and match spied under the blind
Shiny and contoured the railway winds
And I’ve heard the sound from my cousin’s bed
The hiss of the train at the railway head

Always the summers are slipping away

A 60 ton angel falls to the earth
A pile of old metal, a radiant blur
Scars in the country, the summer and her

Always the summers are slipping away
Find me a way for making it stay

When I hear the engine pass
I’m kissing you wide
The hissing subsides
I’m in luck

When the evening reaches here
You’re tying me up
I’m dying of love
It’s OK”

Welcome to my blog about trains. Just to set things straight from the start, this is a blog about trains, but without the trains. Sounds confusing? It might be. But it will all be crystal clear within the next couple of weeks.

What, you want to know now?
Ok then. I will write about stuff that is about trains. Movies about trains, songs about trains and books about trains. Maybe even about some videogames about trains. But not about trains themselves. I do love trains but I had to face the facts, its most likely that you dont. But you will like the trains that I am writing about.

So long, for now.