Although all of these albums are out of print, used copies can be found online. »How the series originated
Steel Rails
CD (1997)
The rich history of railroad lore has provided the inspiration for hundreds of great American folk, country and bluegrass songs. Tributes to fast trains, heroes, outlaws, hoboes and disasters still capture our imaginations. Modern songwriters often portray the train as a symbol of freedom, as a means of escape from one’s troubles, as the source of lost or returning love, or as… »more
Mystery Train
CD (1997)
Real railroads haul passengers, freight, and mail. The trains of our music and literature also carry symbols: they can represent freedom and wanderlust, eros, machismo, escape, work, the ultimate journey that marks life’s end, or nostalgia for a bygone age. This collection of songs about trains and railroads offers some of each of these, from the turn-of-the-century tale of Casey Jones to the… »more
Night Train
CD (1998)
In the 100 year period that began in 1830, the steam locomotive was the prime industrial force that shaped our landscape. The railroad’s impact on American music has been of equal significance, providing themes, metphors, and images that richly invest song after song with color and meaning. In the African-American tradition, the rhythms of the railroad – the chug chug of the steam engine, the clickety-clack of… »more
Freight Train Blues
CD (2000)
Trains are big and loom large in the collective unconscious. No wonder there are so many powerful railroad songs about real and metaphorical trains. Hundreds pay tribute to speeding locomotives, heroic engineers, hobos, lonely passengers, anxious lovers and late-night dreamers. This compilation features fourteen songs by Marty Stuart, Joe Ely, Laurie Lewis, Fred Eaglesmith and others. … »more
Merle Haggard’s Train Whistle Blues
CD (2001)
Merle Haggard loved and recorded dozens of great train songs, even some of his own compositions, including White Man Singin’ The Blues, found on this compilation. Historically country music’s love affair with trains became official when Vernon Dalhart’s recording “Wreck of the Old 97” sold close to a million 78s in the late 1920s… »more
Bluegrass Express
CD (2004)
From the very dawn of country music in 1923, and from the first successful bluegrass in 1940, there’s always been a special connection between high-balling trains roaring through the night and a bluegrass band slicing through the smoke of a Cincinnati bar like a white-hot laser. Welcome to our look at the magic and special relationship between bluegrass and trains. For years, musicians have… »more