Trains

Have you noticed how many songs there are about trains? In every genre, there are several songs about trains. From jazz, with "Take the A-train", to metal, with Ozzy's Crazy Train. And it's not just the good genres that gets train songs. There's even an entire musical about trains. Of course, I'm not the only one to notice. Check this out. 

One of my favorites is of course Porcupine Tree's "Trains". A mighty song. It's obviously about something more than trains - the good ones usually are. And I strongly encourage you to check it out. 

But I don't write about music. Not on this blog anyway. What happened was that I was home with my parents this Christmas, and my father brought out his toys one evening: Model trains. He claims he's not a collector, but he still likes his toys. Now, I did take more pictures of this session, but I'll share the best ones today. 

These are N-Scale, which says something about the distance between the tracks more than it says something about the scale of the trains. Usually though, they are 1:144. Or to put it simple: They are tiny. 

I like it. It's almost like they are 1:18 to a 1:18 toy. Meaning that they would scale-wise be to a G.I. Joe as a G.I. Joe is to me. 

Uh.. Anyway.. I know almost nothing about trains, but I think I like the complexity behind the constructions, both the original trains, and these small models. Are they toys in the traditional fashion? Well, I wouldn't give these to a small kid, and it's definitely not for everyone. But they are toys. My father collects toys. 

Don't ask me about details on these. I see two black steam engines, one blue steam engine, one green electrical train, and one tiny red train. 

Enjoy the pictures, and give a thought to what your favorite train song is!