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As with so many areas of railway-related nostalgia, when it comes to songs about trains, they are usually of the steam variety. And often American to boot! Indeed, people such as Johnny Cash managed to fill whole albums dedicated to them. The relationship between railways and music has always been there for me from my earliest days as a ‘spotter when, between trains, the topic of conversation would be about bands and songs as our musical education was broadened by the fabulous pop pirate radio stations of the time. Thanks to Spencer Vignes’ feature in this issue, I now realise that I am not the only person who associates railway trips with the tunes of the time. Certainly I know that amongst the contributors to this title there are fans of artists including Big Country, The Clash, The Dickies, Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Thin Lizzy, UK Subs,The Who and Yes. One of my enduring memories of the big EWS Traction Event at the East Lancashire Railway ten years ago, was our publisher, John Greenwood, compiling his ‘Top Ten Best Rock Teeshirts’ seen on Bury Bolton Street station. Some of our railways are building on the music link. For example, the Llangollen Railway’s recent Rock & Roll DMU Gala, which not only related to the ride, but to the fact there was a band playing on the station. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway, Havenstreet, is presenting ‘FolkStation’, July 10-12. This year’s Indietracks indie-pop festival at the Midland Railway - Butterley, July 24-26, has an impressive line-up headlined by Camera Obscura. Also on the bill are BMX Bandits, Emmy the Great, Au Revoir Simone plus one of my current faves, Hong Kong In The 60s. Take a look at the website for further details: www.indietracks.co.uk There have been songs about downtown trains, freight trains, runaway trains, southbound trains, night trains, peace trains, love trains, long trains running and even ‘train trains’, but my favourite traction-related lyric was written by Curtis Mayfield. In The Impressions’ 1965 gospel-tinged hit ‘People Get Ready’ (later covered by model railroad fan Rod Stewart), he wrote: ‘People get ready there’s a train a-coming, all you need is faith to hear the diesels humming...’ Praise be.