Steam Dreams
In this day of electric and diesel, very rarely is seen,
A shining locomotive, which is powered by steam.
Back in the days, when my parents were born,
The sight of a steam train was quite the norm.
Whenever a steam train catches my eye,
I stand, watching in awe, as it passes by.
‘Oh wow! Look! ’ I say, as I point a finger,
And the memory of it in my mind will linger.
Steam trains will never completely die out,
As, thankfully, there’s still quite a few about.
About a steam train, there’s something really quite dramatic.
And at the chance of riding on one, people are often ecstatic.
I remember seeing The Flying Scotsman at Salisbury station,
And I stood there marvelling at it with such great admiration.
The engine and all of its carriages just looked so smart.
The sight of such a train, never fails to quicken the heart.
Steam trains are so very elegant in their style.
To spot one, enthusiasts will travel many a mile.
It strange to think that years ago, they were all the rage,
When, they are such a very rare sight, in this day and age.
The sight of the world famous Orient Express,
Is one which will never ever fail to impress.
Through the windows, you can see the plush seats,
Where excited passengers will sit down and eat.
On board, the historic carriages of brown and cream,
They serve expensive champagne and gourmet cuisine.
Sat in a world of pure indulgence, passengers glide,
Through the green and pleasant British countryside.
The carriages have all been restored to their former glory;
If they could talk, I’m sure they could all share quite a story.
The carriages have been described as ‘palaces on wheels’,
And I would really love to know just how that feels.
Still being a very rare sight in these modern times,
I fancy taking a trip on a steam train, to sit and dine.
I guess you would have to pay quite a princely sum,
But I think it would be worth it, just to travel on one.
poem by Angela Wybrow
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Related quotes
Janice and You at Waterloo Station
At Waterloo Station
the steam engines
puffed powerful steam
reaching up
to the rooftop
and you stood there
hands in your pockets
your nose sniffing in
the white and grey smell
you can taste it
on your tongue
and Janice beside you
her eyes looked up
at the rooftop
as the steam
reached high
her hands clutching
the small bag
I want to be a train driver
when I'm older
you said
I want to smell
that smell
and breathe in
that steam and shovel
coal in the engine
maybe you will
Janice said
maybe you'll be
on a train like that
big and black
and powerful
she put her hand
under your arm
and squeezed
Gran said we can be
what we want
if we want it
bad enough
Janice added
you felt her hand
under your arm
sensed her squeeze it
we went to the seaside
on a big black train
like this last year
you said
and I put my head
out the train window
and my mum said
keep your head in
or a train
will knock it off
that'd be horrible
Janice said
she clutched
closer to you
as the steam train
puffed out more steam
and the sound was loud
and powerful
and she said
maybe
when you're an engine driver
you can take me
to the seaside
with Gran
yes
you said
and if you come
to the engine
before you take off
I can show you
the engine
and how powerful it is
and she smiled
and put her head
on your shoulder
yes
you said softly
when I grow up
and when I am older.
poem by Terry Collett
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Last Of The Steam-powered Trains
Like the last of the good ol puffer trains,
Im the last of the blood and sweat brigade,
And I dont know where Im going, or why I came.
Im the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.
Im the last of the good old renegades.
All my friends are all middle class and grey,
But I live in a museum, so Im okay.
Im the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.
Like the last of the good ol choo-choo trains,
Huff and puff till I blow this world away,
And Im gonna keep on rollin till my dying day.
Im the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.
Like the last of the good ol puffer trains,
Im the last of the soot and scum[? ] brigade,
And all this peaceful living is drivin me insane.
Im the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.
Im the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Train
Writers: leo sayer & david courtney
Running through my life
Like a river, like a song
Train keeps pushing me
Right back to the place where I belong...
Back along the tracks
Fly a million years
Right across my path
Train moves on ringing in my ears...
Come on board
Come on board
Train, oh train, take me back, again
I remember, I remember, take me back
Train, oh train, the journey ends and starts again
I remember, I remember, I remember
Ive been up all night trying to get this down
Now Im hallucinating
Staring at the wall look what Im creating...
Look at the clock Im twelve hours old
So many more remain
Way up ahead I know I see a train...
Come on board
Come on board
Train, oh train, all those memories, all over again
I remember, I remember, take me back
Train, oh train, the journey ends and starts again
I remember, I remember, I remember
Waited on the station all day
Just to see a glimpse of the morning train
Just to see the wheels turning round
Blowing up steam,
See what I mean,
You see what I mean...
song performed by by Leo Sayer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Chasing The Train
Two young boys ran down the lane,
Playing the game of chasing the train,
As it puffed its way proudly along,
Chugging out its rhythmic song,
This was of course the age of steam,
Engines were then, an Engineers dream,
Producing such mighty pulling power,
Travelling onwards, hour after hour.
Over steel tracks, tearing up the miles,
Oh, you should have seen the happy smiles,
That emanated, seemingly with such an ease,
From enthusiasts who had tried to squeeze,
Into the carriages all swaying along,
They too just loved the rhythmic song,
And waved to the two young boys in the lane,
Playing the game of chasing the train.
This was inspired by a watercolour of two boys running alongside a steam engine travelling through the countryside parallel with a country lane. The picture was painted by Don Breckon '77.
poem by Ernestine Northover
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Welsh Highland Railway
A belch of smoke and steam,
and a whistle wail
we move with a clickty-clack along the rails.
Then with the train then gathering speed,
our journey begins with more whistle wails.
The carriage throws us around this way and that
as the old steam train rolls down the track.
Visions of happy days gone by,
with billowing smoke and steam.
Fragrancing the air on our ride
of nostalgic days and old ways.
As we ride the rails on a train
of the Welsh Highland Railway.
poem by David Harris
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Steam Engine
Lead vocal: micky dolenz
Produced by: chip douglas
Mr. engineer, slow the engine down some more.
Youre movin just a little too fast,
Ive got my foot down clear to the floor.
Steam engine, engine 99
Steam drivers, rollin right on by.
Mr. engineer, you see Ive got a little problem here.
My baby, shes aboard your train,
She says shes never comin back again.
Steam engine, engine 99
Steam drivers, rollin right on by.
She told me good bye, she said Im leavin you behind.
I think Im gonna die, if I hear that whistle whine.
Mr. engineer, slow the engine down some more.
Youre movin movin just a little too fast,
Ive got my foot down clear to the floor.
Steam engine, engine 99
Steam drivers, rollin right on by.
(steam engines)gotta keep on keep on rollin.
(steam engines)shes gonna leave me behind.
(steam engines)i might as well go home.
(steam engines)shes gonna leave me behind.
(steam engines)i might as well go home.
song performed by by Monkees
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Joy on the Trains at Jubilee Time
At the station, the platform is packed.
Soon our train is heading down the track.
As our London-bound train slowly approaches,
I am surprised by the evident lack of coaches.
The ensuing rush to get on, is all rather manic.
The Guard blows his whistle and everyone panics.
Upon the platform, there's soon no one left,
But many new passengers are out of breath.
Once onboard, there is standing room only:
There's certainly no chance of being lonely.
Of vacant seats, I see there is a major lack,
So I stand, holding on to the luggage rack.
Some people are huddled up by the doors,
Whilst others plump for a seat on the floor.
At the next station, they don't release all the doors:
Our already packed train can only take a few more.
By the time that our train reaches Woking,
It's a real nightmare - I wish I was joking,
But passengers are left abandoned on the platform:
Their faces disappointed, they all look so forlorn.
I overhear a number of passengers complain
About the distinct lack of carriages on our train.
During my journey, I spend most of my time
Thinking up sentences which, nicely, rhyme.
By the time our train pulls in to Waterloo,
With my new poem, I am almost through.
We're ten minutes late and the Guard explains
This was due to passengers boarding the train.
When I head home again, it is getting quite late.
And the number of carriages now totals eight.
No one is standing: everybody has a seat.
I travel home in comfort. Oh, what a treat!
poem by Angela Wybrow
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Visit to the Train Station.
You and Fay got off the bus
and walked towards Waterloo train station
and you said
I often come here
just to see and smell
and hear the steam trains
and she looked about her
at the sights and sounds
and smell of steam off the trains
at the platforms
and she said
I haven't been here
since my parents took us
to the seaside once
and my father was in a cross mood
all day because we wanted to play
on the beach and he wanted to go
to the pubs and my mother sat there
most of the day watching us
in a solemn silence
and she jump back a little
when a stream engine
blew out loudly nearby
and she laughed
and so did you
and as you stood there
in your faded jeans
and off white tee shirt
and she in her pink
summery dress
she took your hand
in her small hand
and you watched her
out of the corner of your eye
and she seemed to be so alive
and happy and all the dark times
of her father and his moods
and stern punishments
seemed momentarily
to have fled
and a glint of sunshine
and happiness came
and rested there
instead.
poem by Terry Collett
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The 6.15 from Paddington - Steam Days
The 6.15 from Paddinton goes chugging down the track,
The Guard blows on his whistle, and the engine whistles back.
The carriages are following, swaying as they go,
The passengers are also swaying to and fro.
Through Maidenhead, Reading and Newbury in Berks,
The monster travels onwards, with steam, grey smoke and sparks.
Past Swindon down in Wiltshire and then Chipping Sodbury,
Through tunnels, over bridges, always in a 'big' hurry.
The countryside goes whooshing by, as we travel on,
With fields, lanes and cottages, one moment seen, then gone.
Villages, farms and valleys, tree clad hills and downs,
Flashing past the windows, with 'swishy swooshy' sounds.
It now approaches Bristol, the driver applies the brakes,
With screeching and with creaking, what a hullabaloo it makes.
It's reached it's destination where the Porter and the Clerk,
Will check on all the passengers, before they disembark.
The loud station announcer declares she's the next train out,
The fireman stokes the boiler, and the green flag's waved about.
The train is off and whistles, as it thunders out of view,
The trails of smoke are lifting and the sun is breaking through.
The 6.15 from Paddington is now on her way to Wales,
To Cardiff and to Swansea, for the shops and summer sales.
poem by Ernestine Northover
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When steam first began to pump and wheels go round at so many revolutions per minute, what are called business habits were intended to make the life of man run in harmony with the steam engine, and his movement rival the train in punctuality.
quote by George William Russell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Quiet Steam
Released as b-side of digging in the dirt single, 1992.
Stand back
Stand back
What are those dogs doing, sniffing at my feet
Theyre onto something, pickin up, pickin up
This heat
This heat
Give me steam
How you feel can make it real
Get a life with this dreamers dream
Oh, give me steam
Real as anything you see
Get a life in this dreamers dream
You know your culture from your trash
You know your plastic from your cash
When I lose sight of the track
You know the way back
But I know you
You know your stripper from your paint
You know your sinner from your saint
Whenever heavens doors are shut
You get them open, but
I know you
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Get a life in this dreamers dream
Oh, give me steam
Real as anything you see
Get a life in this dreamers dream
You know your green from your red
You know the quick from the dead
So much better than the rest
You think youve been blessed
But I know you
You know your ladder from your snake
You know the throttle from the brake
You know your straight line from the curve
Youve got a lot of nerve
But I know you
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Get a life in this dreamers dream
Oh, give me steam
Real as any place youve been
Get a life with this dreamers dream
Oh yeah, I need steam
Feel your steam around me
Turning up the heat
I start to dream aloud
You move my hands and feet
Wont you step into this cloud
Of steam
This steam
Give me steam
How you feel can make it real
Real as anything youve seen
Get a life with this dreamers dream
Give me steam
How you feel can make it so real
Get a life in this dreamers dream
Help me yeah
Comin alive
In your steam
Comin alive
In your steam
Comin alive
song performed by by Peter Gabriel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Steam
Ah steam
You know it's steam
It's now been fifteen days since you've been steamed at me
And I don't want your frustration and your madness
Pushed and blamed on me
'Cos you're crazy through the day
And you're crazy through the night
And, what the hell, you've been crazy all your life
And I don't want people thinking I'm not treating you right
It's the nature of it
Steam
It's the nature of it,
Steam
When you 're saying those things
that you don't really mean
You can blame it on the rain
You can blame it on the heat
It's the nature of it
Steam
You seem to put it all on me
The sky, your health
Your dreams and your beliefs
And I seem to protect and respect everything
too naturally
Steam,
You know it's steam
More days, more days
I'm steamed in every way
I said, no way, no way,
I'm steamed in every way
You can blame it on the rain
You can blame it on the heat
It's the nature of it
Steam
It's the nature of it,
Steam
When you 're saying those things
that you don't really mean
You can blame it on the rain
You can blame it on the heat
It's the nature of it
Steam
More days, more days
I'm steamed in every way
I said, no way, no way,
I'm steamed in every way
I said more days, more days,
I'm steamed in every way
I said, no way, no way,
This is where I stay.
song performed by by Vanessa Amorosi
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Raising Steam
Over high plains, through the snow...
Roll those tracks out, dont you know
Im raising steam.
Thin vein creeping; hot blood flow...
Spill a little where the new towns grow.
I got my whole life hanging in a sack,
Heading out into that wide world wide.
You got your locomotive sitting on your track
And I dont care which way I ride.
I may not be coming back.
Left a lady with a heart
All in pieces come apart
Raising steam.
That engine up front must
Have a heart big enough for the both of us.
Riding shotgun on the sunset, stare it in the eye,
Rocking on my heels out to the west.
Funny how the whole world, historically,
Feels the urge to chase the sun to rest.
We may not be coming back.
Let me be your engineer...
Have you smiling ear to ear
Raising steam.
And will you tell me how it feels
When youre up and rolling on your driving wheels?
I got my whole life hanging in a sack,
Heading out into that wide world wide.
Ill be your locomotive blowing off its stack
And I dont care which way I ride.
I may not be coming back.
Raising steam.
song performed by by Jethro Tull
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Photograph
She sat on the platform bench
waiting for a train to arrive.
Waiting to see her brother
who left to start a new life
twenty-five years ago.
She brought a photograph of herself
for him to have when he went back home.
Stillness engulfed the station
as she waited alone there.
The hiss of an old steam train
filled the quiet air
as along the track it came
like a dinosaur from the past
and stopped at the station.
A group of young soldiers
disembarked to stretch their legs
and grab some fresh air.
One young soldier approached her.
He was sixteen if he was a day.
He smiled as he sat beside her.
“You’re a pretty lady.” He said.
“Thank you.” She replied. “Off to fight some battles? ”
“Yes, but I am not really sure where.
They say a lot of us might not be coming back”
“That is sad.” She replied.
“Especially when you have no one
to think of you.”
“You see I am an orphan
and have no family or a girlfriend come to that.
No one to think of me
when the great battles come.”
“Now that is sad, ” She said looking at him.
Then she realized the photograph
for her brother was in her handbag.
She reached in and removed it.
“Take this and think of me
when your great battles come.”
“I will keep it with me always.
Now I must get back on the train.”
As the train whistle blew.
He waved goodbye as the steam engulfed him.
Then the train was gone
as quickly as it had come.
The stillness that had engulfed the station
now dissipated to.
Suddenly there was noise everywhere.
She looked around
as if waking from a dream.
She looked back down the tracks.
The mournful hoot of the electric horn
herald the arriving electric train.
She watched it intensely
as it slowed to stop at the station.
Two passengers alighted,
a man and a woman.
Her brother and his wife.
She greeted them with a smile,
but her brother’s wife looked at her in shock
as if she had seen a ghost.
They hugged one another,
and then left the station
to go to her home.
Arriving at her home
her sister-in-law looked at her again.
“Sorry if I look mystified when I look at you.
I have something I must tell you.
My grandfather before he died
asked me to find any relatives
to a lady in a photograph.
It was given to him
when he was leaving to go to war
over seventy years ago.
He carried it with him everywhere he went.
He said the photograph protected him
like a good luck charm.
He swore one day to return it,
but events made that impossible.
He immigrated when the war was over
and never got the chance.
He wanted to let her family know
of the kind deed she did”
“But that does not explain
the way you looked at me.”
She removed the photograph
and handed it to her.
It was the photograph
she had given the young soldier
only hours before.
9 April 2009
poem by David Harris
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Old Engine Driver
For five and twenty years I've run
A famous train;
But now my spell of speed is done,
No more I'll strain
My sight along the treadless tracks,
The gleamy rails:
My hand upon the throttle slacks,
My vision fails.
No more I'll urge my steed of steel
Through hostile nights;
No more the mastery I'll feel
Of monster might.
I'll miss the hiss of giant steam,
The clank, the roar;
The agony of brakes that scream
I'll hear no more.
Oh I have held within my hand
A million lives;
And now my son takes command
And proudly drives;
While from my cottage wistfully
I watch his train,
And wave and wave and seem to see
Myself again.
poem by Robert William Service
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Railway Station
My dear railway station, my treasure
Of meetings and partings, my friend
In times of hard trials and pleasure,
Your favours have been without end.
My scarf would wrap up my whole being -
The train would pull up, with deep sighs,
The muzzles of brash harpies, leering,
Would puff wet white steam in our eyes.
I'd sit at your side for a moment -
A hug and a kiss, brief and rough.
Farewell then, my joy and my torment.
I'm going, conductor, I'm off!
And, shunting bad weather and sleepers,
The west would break open-I'd feel
It grab me with snowflakes to keep me
From falling down under the wheels.
A whistle dies down, echoed weakly,
Another flies from distant tracks.
A train comes past bare platforms sweeping -
A blizzard of many hunched backs.
And twilight is rearing to go,
And, lured by the smoke and the steam,
The wind and the field rush and now
I wish I could be one of them!
poem by Boris Pasternak
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I guess the two things I was most interested in were telescopes and steam engines. My father was an engineer on a threshing rig steam engine and I loved the machinery.
quote by Clyde Tombaugh
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Preparing To Fly
Im preparing to fly
Under my own steam
Im preparing to fly
Into a dream
Im in love all over again
Im head over heels
I cant even begin
To tell you how it feels
She lives on a rock
Surrounded by light
Shes young and shes wild
And shes treating me right
Im preparing to fly
Under my own steam
Im preparing to fly
Into a dream
I shed some light
I change my address
I havent felt so great
Since I first went west
Ive got brilliant intentions
Unthinkable plans
Ive got sparks and electric shocks
Just exploding from my hands
Im preparing to fly
Under my own steam
Im preparing to fly
Into a dream
Im back in the saddle
Im out in the clear
I got no regrets
Ive got nothing to fear
Ive battled my demons
Come out on top
Im gonna love you as hard as I can
Never gonna stop
Im preparing to fly
Under my own steam
Im preparing to fly
Into a dream
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Meet Me At The Station
(brother williams memphis sanctified singers)
Well if I get to heaven before you do
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
Ill be watching and waiting, mother dear, for you
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
Father, when the train
Father, when the train
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
When the train
Father, when the train comes along
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
Well if my eyes see the glory, before yours do
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
Ill be watching and waiting, father, for you
I will meet you at the station whe your train comes along
Father, when the train
Father, when the train
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
Father, when the train
Father, when the train comes along
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
Now if my feet touch the homeline before yours do
I will meet you at the station when the train comes along
Ill be watching and waiting, my brother, for you
I will meet you at the station when the train comes along
When the train
When the train
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
When the train
When the train comes along
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
When the train
When the train
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
When the train
When the train comes along
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
Now if you see gods country before I do
Will you meet me at the station when my train comes along
Will you be there watching, sister, for me
Will you meet me at the station when my train comes along
When my train
When my train
Meet me at the station when my train comes along
When my train
Sister, when my train comes along
Will you meet me at the station when my train comes along
When the train
When the train
Meet me at the station when my train comes along
When the train
Oh, when the train
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
Meet me at the station when the train comes along
song performed by by Waterboys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Steam
Stand back!
said stand back!
What are those dogs doing sniffing at my feet?
Theyre on to something, picking up
Picking up this heat, this heat
{chorus 1:}
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as anything youve seen
Get a life with the dreamers dream
You know your culture from your trash
You know your plastic from your cash
When I lose sight of the track
You know the way back
But I know you
You know your stripper from your paint
You know your sinner from your saint
Whenever heavens doors are shut
You kick them open, but
I know you
{chorus 2:}
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as any place youve been
Get a life with the dreamers dream
Stand back!
said stand back!
Cant you see Ive lost control? Im getting indiscreet
Youre moving in so close til Im picking up
Picking up this heat, this heat
[chorus 1]
You know your green from your red
You know the quick from the dead
So much better than the rest
You think youve been blessed
But I know you
You know your leather from your snake
You know the throttle from the brake
You know your straight line from a curve
Youve got a lot of nerve
But I know you
[chorus 2]
Everybody nosedive
Hold your breath, count to five
Backslap, boobytrap
Cover it up in bubblewrap
Room shake, earthquake
Find a way to stay awake
Its gonna blow, its gonna break
This is more than I can take
Oh yeah, I need steam
Feel the steam around me
Ah youre turning up the heat
When I start to dream aloud
til youre movin hands and feet
Wont you step into this cloud of steam
This steam
[chorus 1]
Help me yeah
Ready to steam out the log jam
Stir crazy from the freezer to the boil
Waters bubbling, its b..b..b..bubbling
Bubbling bubbling bubbling bubbling
Life is coming to the boil
Gimme steam, lady
Gimme the steam around me now
On a high, coming alive
said gimme some steam!
song performed by by Peter Gabriel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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