| "Slow Train" | |
|---|---|
 Writers Flanders and Swann | |
| Song by Flanders and Swann | |
| Written | 1963 |
| Genre | List song; Train song |
| Composer(s) | Donald Swann |
| Lyricist(s) | Michael Flanders |
"Slow Train" is a song by British duo Flanders and Swann, written in July 1963. [1] It laments the closure of railway stations and lines brought about by the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, and also the passing of a way of life. [2]
"Slow Train" takes the form of an elegiac list song of railway stations, which has been likened to a litany. [3] Its evocation of quiet, rural stations is highly romanticised and uses imagery such as the presence of a station cat or milk churns on a platform to express a "less hurried way of life" that is about to vanish: [2]
No churns, no porter, no cat on a seat,
At Chorlton-cum-Hardy or Chester-le-Street.
The strength of "Slow Train" is considered to lie in its list of "achingly bucolic" names of rural halts. The nostalgically poetic tone of Flanders's lyrics has been likened to Edward Thomas's 1914 poem "Adlestrop", which wistfully evokes a fleeting scene of Adlestrop railway station in Gloucestershire. [4]
Although most of the stations mentioned in Flanders's song were earmarked for closure under the Beeching cuts, a number of the stations were ultimately spared closure: Chester-le-Street, Formby, Ambergate, and Arram all remain open, and Gorton and Openshaw also survives, now called Gorton. Some stations referred to in the song have since been re-opened, notably Chorlton-cum-Hardy. It had closed in January 1967, but re-opened in July 2011 as Chorlton tram stop.
Selby and Goole were not threatened by Beeching, though the line ("from Selby to Goole") mentioned in the song was closed to passengers. The other line mentioned, "from St Erth to St Ives" in Cornwall stayed open. [note 1]
Michael Flanders' song treats Formby Four Crosses and Armley Moor Arram as station names, but in both cases he combined two consecutive names from an alphabetical list of stations. Leon Berger, archivist of the estate of Donald Swann, said that Flanders had taken his list from one published in The Guardian , which was the source of some of the discrepancies between the names in the songs and the historic names of the stations. [5]
In 2004, Canadian classical quartet Quartetto Gelato released a themed album called Quartetto Gelato Travels the Orient Express, celebrating the original journey of Orient Express and featuring music from London to Istanbul. The album begins with a rendition of "Slow Train", with the final lines changed to reflect the route of the Orient Express.
A version of "The Slow Train" by the King's Singers is on electronica duo Lemon Jelly's track "'76 aka The Slow Train", combined with a cover of the Albert Hammond song "I'm a Train" also performed by the King's Singers. A live version by Stackridge was included in its 2009 DVD 4x4.
Michael Williams' book On the Slow Train takes its name from the song. It celebrates twelve of the most beautiful and historic journeys in Britain that were saved from the Beeching cuts, including famous routes such as the Settle–Carlisle line and less well-known pleasures, such as the four-hour Preston–Carlisle route along the remote Cumbrian coastline. [6]
English folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner included a version of the song on his 2011 compilation album The Second Three Years .
Where appropriate, the correct name of the station is shown in brackets.
An abandoned railway station is a building or structure which was constructed to serve as a railway station but has fallen into disuse. There are various circumstances when this may occur – a railway company may fall bankrupt, or the station may be closed due to the failure of economic activity such as insufficient passenger numbers, operational reasons such as the diversion or replacement of the line. In some instances, the railway line may continue in operation while the station is closed. Additionally, stations may sometimes be resited along the route of the line to new premises – examples of this include opening a replacement station nearer to the centre of population, or building a larger station on a less restricted site to cope with high passenger numbers.
Goole railway station is a railway station in town of Goole on the Hull and Doncaster Branch in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Selby railway station is a Grade II listed station which serves the town of Selby in North Yorkshire, England. The original terminus station was opened in 1834 for the Leeds and Selby Railway. The Hull and Selby Railway extended the line in 1840, and a new station was built, with the old station becoming a goods shed. The station was rebuilt in 1873 and 1891, the 1891 rebuilding being required due to the replacement of the swing bridge over the Ouse at the same time.
Formby railway station is a railway station in the town of Formby, Merseyside, England. The station is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line. The station has a car park.
Arram railway station serves the small village of Arram in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Yorkshire Coast Line and is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services. It is mentioned in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.
St Ives railway station is a railway station which serves the coastal town of St Ives, Cornwall, England. It was opened in 1877 as the terminus of the last new broad gauge passenger railway to be constructed in the country. Converted to standard gauge in 1892, it is today served by Great Western Railway services on the St Ives Bay Line from St Erth. It is 325 miles (523 km) from London Paddington via Bristol Temple Meads.
Blandford Forum railway station was a station on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway which served the town of Blandford Forum.
Mumby Road railway station was a station on the Great Northern Railway's Mablethorpe Loop line between Willoughby, Mablethorpe and Louth. It served the village of Bilsby, and was named after the nearby village of Mumby. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1970. The station was immortalised in 1964 in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.
Chorlton is a stop on the South Manchester Line (SML) and Airport Line of the Metrolink light-rail system in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England. It was built as part of Phase 3a of the network's expansion, and opened on 7 July 2011 on a section of the former Cheshire Lines Committee railway.
Littleton and Badsey railway station was a station on the Great Western Railway's Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton line, near the town of Evesham, Worcestershire in England. It was located in Blackminster, and served the villages of Badsey and the Littletons.
Four Crosses railway station was a station on the former Cambrian Railways between Oswestry and Welshpool.
Trouble House Halt was a small station on the Tetbury branch line between Kemble and Tetbury between 1959 and 1964, when the line closed as part of the Beeching cuts.
Cockermouth railway station was situated on the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway and served the town of Cockermouth, Cumbria, England.
Chittening Platform railway station was a station on the former Great Western Railway between Filton and Avonmouth.
Armley Moor railway station was a station on the former Great Northern Railway between Leeds and Bramley. The location was between Carr Crofts and Wortley Road bridges, accessed via Station Road.
Wilbraham Road railway station was in Whalley Range, Manchester, England, on the Fallowfield Loop line between Manchester Central and Fairfield, via Chorlton. Opened as Alexandra Park in 1892 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, it was near the junction of Alexandra Road South and Mauldeth Road West, close to Alexandra Park, and served the expanding residential suburb of Whalley Range. The railway line has since been converted into a shared use path.
Aldeburgh railway station was a station in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. It was opened in 1860 by the East Suffolk Railway, and later came under the control of the Great Eastern Railway. The terminus of an 8.5 mile branch line to Saxmundham, the station closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching Axe as much of the British rural rail network was cut back.
Airmyn railway station was on the Selby to Goole Line. It served the village of Airmyn in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The Selby–Goole line was a standard gauge branch line connecting Selby and Goole, built in 1910 by the North Eastern Railway. The line closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts.
Drax Hales railway station was one of two railway stations that served the village of Drax in North Yorkshire, England. It opened to passengers and goods in 1912 as part of the Selby to Goole line and later closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts. The area is now occupied by the A645 road.
