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THE MOORLAND TRAIN

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Another train one. A re-post from 2014.  You may hear the dead hand of The Man in Black.

 

I hear the train guard’s whistle

The slamming of the doors

The fireman stokes the furnace

For the haul across the moors;

The driver lets some steam off

And sees the train guard’s flag

Then gets those big wheels turning

For the Goathland Drag.

 

You’re leaning from the window

As the platform eases by

There’s thunder ringing in your ears

There’s cinder in your eye;

The sun beats down from Heaven

The clouds then burst with rain;

You’ll witness all four seasons

As you ride the Moorland Train.

 

You smell the smoke and oil

You close your eyes and then

Forget the years of passage

And your twelve years old again;

The sun beats down from Heaven

The clouds then burst with rain;

You’ll witness all four seasons

As you ride the Moorland Train.

 

She’s heaving up the incline

Just hear those pistons sing

We’re due next stop in Goathland

Then on to Pickering;

The sun beats down from Heaven

The clouds then burst with rain;

You’ll witness all four seasons

As you ride the Moorland Train.

◄ THE SLOW TRAIN

DUCKWORTH-LEWIS ►

Comments

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John Coopey

Tue 1st Aug 2023 08:03

Thanks MC.

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M.C. Newberry

Mon 31st Jul 2023 20:26

Certainly worth a re-post. And the Johnny Cash resonance is
always a solid basis for anything about trains.. 😎
I can hear that whistle blowing
Echoing down the track
That's where my memory's going
As those yesterdays come back!

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John Coopey

Mon 31st Jul 2023 19:54

Thankyou, Stephen. I can’t deny “Night Mail” was in my head when I wrote this. But I could happily give up my pen if ever I could write anything as remotely good as “shovelling white steam over her shoulder”.

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 31st Jul 2023 16:50

A touch of 'Night Mail' in the last verse, John. One of those poems which brings back memories, even if you never had them!

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John Coopey

Mon 31st Jul 2023 11:14

Thanks, Greg, Graham and Uilleam.
When the kids were little we used to ride from Pickering to Goathland and then walk predominantly downhill to Grosmont. It was about 3 miles. Just a lovely walk and not too arduous for them (and me!).
We went last year with my mother-in-law and father-in-law.to Whitby. A nice memory from before she died.
They do a wartime weekend in the Autumn although they shelved it last year as inappropriate.

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Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Mon 31st Jul 2023 10:38

So descriptive John; I can see myself on the platform with the noise and smell, and yes, the grit in my eye, as a kid waiting for the Blackpool "excursion" train.

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Greg Freeman

Mon 31st Jul 2023 09:01

The railway itself has been on the telly in a documentary in recent years, plus there's the money they must make from 'period' films. And the line has revitalised rail services into Whitby since its extension. A very jaunty way of extolling its virtues, JC.

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Graham Sherwood

Mon 31st Jul 2023 08:03

You smell the smoke and oil
You close your eyes and then
Forget the years of passage
And you’re twelve years old again


If only!!!

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Graham Sherwood

Mon 31st Jul 2023 07:59

Been on that one JC. I seem to remember it was when my wife was into ‘Heartbeat’ on TV?

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