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This episode of Noted Stories, “Train Tracks,” features three songs inspired by my lifelong connection to railroads.

Growing up in Nashville, I watched the Christmas parade from Union Station and received a Lionel train that I still run at Christmas. My Donelson elementary school’s annual L&N trip to Gallatin was another childhood highlight. Years later, I rode those same tracks north on my way to California.

“The Burlington Line” is a true story song. In 1975, I met an elderly man on an Amtrak train making its way through Montana. He said he felt alone after losing his wife and was growing distant from his children, so that would be his last ride. That night, I watched him leave the train at a foggy station. As we pulled away, I saw its name: Paradise. The encounter inspired this song.

“Two Fast Trains” came to me in a dream. It tells of a switchman whose job is to prevent two trains from colliding—and how one bad decision sets off a chain of consequences.

“Steel and Steam Lullaby” began with a shaggy-dog story told by Bill Armstrong, the father of my teenage music partner. A boy spends his life waving to trains and calling, “Hello, Mr. Engineer,” but never gets a response. On his deathbed, the engineer finally looks down and says, “Oh…hello, little boy.” My band, Dog & Pony, performed the song…usually after I had told the whole story onstage in front of a groaning audience.

© 2026 David Ray Skinner/Electric Quilt Music, BMI