Train Songs - 200 Great Songs about Railroad Heroes, Hobos and Freight Trains

Sometimes, there can be good reasoms for having alternative versions of the same song in a compilation. Unfortunately, here it appears just sloppy. I'll concede that there can be different songs with the same title (here there are two different songs on CD 6, both titled Big train) but that's OK.There are three versions of This train (Johnny Duncan, Hank Thompson, Reverened Ballenger), three versions of Wreck of the old '97 (Hank Snow, Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Cash) and two versions of many other songs including Wabash cannonball, which also appears a third time with different lyrics as Jukebox cannonball. Furthermore, there are two recordings by the same artist of Tennessee ghost train. Jimmy Dale's 1957 version sounds a little better than his 1953 version.Dates and (in some cases) chart positions are given without any explanation. The chart positions are misleading. I know that some relate to the British pop charts and some to the American country charts. Others may relate to the Americann pop or R+B charts. Who knows?Another problem is that some songs just don't belong here. Yonder comes a sucker (Jim Reeves) mentions railroad in a chorus line, but cannot seriously be classed as a train song. Big iron (Marty Robbins) has no connection whatsoever with trains or railroads that I can find. Mule train (two versions) is not a railroad song, as the mules themselves follow each other in line.I don't mind Jukebox cannonball, which although derived from a train song, has no train references except the cannonball, which is reduced to a metaphor. I also don't mind If I were a train (Teresa Brewer), which is also metaphorical but doesn't pretend to be anything else.Despite the excess duplication and the misleading chart info, I contemplated giving this box 4 stars because there is plenty of great music here. If all the duplication had been removed and the set been issued with fewer tracks, I'd probably have given it 5 stars. However, it became an irritating listening experience because the tracks are arranged in such a way that it's difficult to play two CD's one after the other without hearing at least one song and usually more repeated. Careful advance planning may make it possible to listen to three CD's back to back without any repeated song, but I haven't established whether that is possible.Having explained why I'm only giving this box 3 stars, I'll mention some of my favorites here. It's great to hear Last train to San Fernando (Johnny Duncan) again; it was a huge UK hit at the time but is rarely re-issued anywhere these days. I particulaly like Old black choo-choo (Maddox brothers and Rose) with Rose in the guise of a steam locomotive rusting away and lamenting its fate. Fantastic. Another great track is Night train to Memphis (Red Foley and Roberta Lee) that works well as a duet. There are other great tracks I could mention, but I'll close by saying that this is good value for money at the price if you can tolerate the problems. It could have been so much better.Track listingsCD 1 1. Hank Williams - Pan American 2. Doris Day - Choo Choo Train 3. Ken Colyer Skiffle Group - Streamline Train 4. Frankie Laine - Mule Train 5. Hank Snow - Doggone That Train 6. Johnny Burnette Rock and Roll Trio - Lonesome Train 7. Everly Brothers - Lightnin' Express 8. Johnny Cash - Hey Porter 9. Glenn Miller- Chattanooga Choo Choo10. Marty Robbins - Big Iron11. Alan Lomax and The Ramblers - Railroad Man12. Johnny Horton - The Golden Rocket13. Stonewall Jackson - Smoke Along The Trac14. Don Gibson I'm Movin' On15. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - Rock Island Line16. Hank Williams - The Log Train17. Ricky Nelson - Glory Train18. Jimmy Dale - Tennessee Ghost Train19. Bobby Darin - Oo Ee Train20. Johnny Duncan and His Blue Grass Boys - This TrainCD 2 1. Jim Reeves - Yonder Comes A Sucker 2. The Champs - Train To Nowhere 3. Bill Haley and The Comets - Choo Choo Ch? Boogie 4. Lloyd George - Come On Train 5. Roy Acuff - Wabash Cannonball 6. Hank Snow - Big Wheels 7. Bonnie Lou - Train Whistle Blues 8. Hank Williams - I Heard That Lonesome Whistle 9. Rusty Draper - Freight Train10. Clyde Arnold - Black Smoke And Blue Tears11. Red Foley - Freight Train Boogie12. Bill Justis - Bop Train13. Hank Thompson - This Train14. Buck Griffin - Watchin' The 7:10 Roll By15. Arthur Baird's Skiffle Group - Union Train16. Teresa Brewer - If I Were A Train17. Curly Lee - They Call Me A Hobo18. Johnny Burnette - Midnight Train19. Johnny Horton - Big Wheels Rollin'20. Johnny Boni - Train RockCD 3 1. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - John Henry 2. Laurie London - The Gospel Train 3. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues 4. Sam McGee - Railroad Blues 5. Jim Reeves - Waiting For A Train 6. Bill Haley and The Comets - Chattanooga Choo Choo 7. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - Worried Man Blues 8. Louvin Brothers - Put Me On The Train To Carolina 9. Freddie Bell and The Bell Boys - Take The First Train Out Of Town10. Hank Snow - The Last Ride11. Louis Jordan - Choo Choo Ch' Boogie12. Johnny Horton - The First Train Headin' South13. Hank Snow - I'm Movin' On14. Johnny Duncan and His Blue Grass Boys - Last Train To San Fernando15. The Four Lovers - Night Train16. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Streamlined Cannonball17. Lee Emerson - Catch That Train18. Johnny Horton - Coal Smoke, Valve Oil And Steam19. Johnny Talley - Lonesome Train20. Neil Sedaka - One Way TicketCD 4 1. Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra - Sentimental Journey 2. Phil Bo Mister Train 3. Rusty Draper The Train With The Rhumba Beat 4. Kenny Roberts Choo Choo Ch' Boogie 5. Johnny Burnette Rock & Roll Trio - The Train Kept A-Rollin' 6. Hank Snow - The Golden Rocket 7. Bill Haley and The Comets - Jukebox Cannonball 8. Red Foley - Hobo Boogie 9. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - Lost John10. Carroll Free - The Wreck Of Old No. 911. Tommy Nelson - Hobo Bop12. Hawkshaw Hawkins - Pan American13. Ken Patrick - Night Train14. Bob Newman - Chic-A-Choo Freight15. Jimmie Rodgers - Hobo Bill's Last Ride16. Ken Colyer Skiffle Group - Casey Jones17. The Bradley Boys - Evil Train18. Little Junior Parker and The Blue Flames - Mystery Train19. Sonny Miller - Richmond, Chicago, Mexico And Home20. Roy Brown - Train Time BluesCD 5 1. Johnny Cash - Train Of Love 2. Bob Ayres and The Secret Agent Men - Denver 3. The Valentines - The Woo Woo Train 4. Johnny Horton - The Train With The Rhumba Beat 5. Tiny Bradshaw - The Train Kept A-Rollin' 6. Jimmy Jackson's Rockin' Skiffle - Midnight Train 7. Hank Snow - One More Ride 8. Franklin Stewart - That Long Black Train 9. Jimmie O?Neal - Streamliner Boogie10. Elvis Presley - Mystery Train11. Bill Mack - Long Long Train12. Jimmie Rodgers - Train Whistle Blues13. Benny Martin - Hobo14. Jimmie Dale - Tennessee Ghost Train15. Ralph Pruitt - Hey Mister Porter16. Spade Cooley - All Aboard For Oklahoma17. Jerry Pitts - Keep Old Central Rolling18. Amos Milburn - Train Time Blues19. Jimmy Starr - Gonna Take An Express Train20. Lowell Fulson - The Train Is Leavin'CD 6 1. Art Law - Big Train 2. Red Foley and Roberta Lee - Night Train To Memphis 3. Rollee McGill - There Goes That Train 4. Cliff Shepherd - Railroad Crossing 5. Bill Flagg - I'm So Lonely 6. Hank Penny - Lonesome Train Blues 7. Lanie Walker - Side Track Daddy 8. Larry Harvey - Rolling Home 9. Sonny Anderson - Lonely Lonely Train10. Hank Snow - Hobo Bill's Last Ride11. Ken Colyer Skiffle Group - Down Bound Train12. Jim Foley and The Big Beats - Goodbye Train13. Cousin Joe Maphis - Lonesome Train Boogie14. Tommy Faile - Big Train15. Jimmie Rodgers - Waiting For A Train16. Norman Sullivan - Folsom Prison17. Freddy Jacobs - Lonesome Train18. Al Sears Now - Ride The "D" Train19. The Champs - Tough Train20. Little Esther - MainlinerCD 7 1. Vernon Taylor - Mystery Train 2. Johnny Horton - Big Wheels Rollin' 3. Billy Joe Tucker - Mail Train 4. Rudy Thacker - Black Train 5. Marty Martin - Boxcar Willie 6. Johnny Cash - Rock Island Line 7. Gene Parson - Wreck Of The Ol' Number Nine 8. Bob Wills - Take The "A" Train 9. Eddie Plew and The Juniors - Midnight Train10. Gene Norman and The Rocking Rockets - Long Gone Night Train11. Arlie Miller - Big Black Train12. Hank Snow - The Wreck Of The Old ?9713. Ray Scott - The Train?s Done Gone14. Billy Strange and His Orchestra - Hell Train15. Bob Riley - The Midnight Line16. Chuck Manning and The Rhythm Ranch Boys - Let?s Go17. Ivory Joe Hunter - Stop Rockin' That Train18. Gene and Jerry - Freight Train Blues19. Mabel Scott - Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train20. Ronnie Murray - Train TrainCD 8 1. Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group - Freight Train 2. Hank Snow - Ben Dewberry?s Final Run 3. Hank Davis - One Way Track 4. Homer Zeke Clemons - Dallas Limited 5. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - Wabash Cannonball 6. Wayne Busbice - Going Back To Dixie 7. Johnny Cash - One More Ride (Nolan) 8. Hank Spurling - Box Car Blues 9. Joe Lewis - Train Whistle Nightmare10. Jimmy North - Leavin? Town11. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - Railroad Bill12. Willie Tremain?s Thunderbirds - Midnite Express13. Floyd Fletcher - Move On Down The Track14. Grover Pruitt - Mean Train15. Don Lang Skiffle Group - The Cattle Train16. Leon James - Ride That Train17. Eddie Cletro - Lonesome Train Boogie18. Earl Bostic - Steam Whistle Jump19. Maddox Brothers and Rose - Old Black Choo Choo20. Wilbert Harrison - Florida SpecialCD 9 1. Hank Snow - The Mystery Of No. 5 2. Stanley Johnson - Big Black Train 3. Chuck Berry - Down Bound Train 4. The Chuck-A-Lucks - The Devil's Train 5. The Jades - Lost Train 6. Roy Acuff - Fireball Mail 7. Wayne Newman - Midnight Train 8. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group - Wreck Of The Old ?97 9. Zen Fuller - Memory Train10. Lonnie Glosson Pan American Boogie11. Rod Morris - The Ghost Of Casey Jones12. Sonny Stewart and His Skiffle Kings - The Northern Line13. Tracy Pendarvis - South Bound Line14. Charles Dean - Train Whistle Boogie15. Don Lang Skiffle Group - 6.5. Special16. The York Brothers - Gravy Train17. Reverend Ballenger - This Train18. Bus Moten On - The Gravy Train19. Cecil Foutch - Big Wheel20. Big Jay McNeely - Night RideCD 10 1. Jimmy Jackson?s Rockin' Skiffle - California Zephyr 2. Johnny Cash - Wreck Of The Old ?97 3. The Miller Brothers - Loco Choo Choo 4. Jody Reynolds - Long Black Train 5. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Mule Train 6. Hank Davis - Woman Train 7. Wade Cagle - Groovy Train 8. Johnny Tyler - Freight Train Boogie 9. Gene Simmons - Going Back To Memphis10. Doug Corby - Heartbreak Train11. Johnny Nelms - Mister Freight Train12. Tommy Sena - Choo Choo Train13. Joe Lewis - Railroad Engineer14. Eddie Carter - Railroad Stomp15. Hank Snow - The Engineer's Child16. Bob Cort?s Skiffle Group - Eight More Miles To Louisville17. Jack Kingston - Freight Train Blues18. Louis and Frosty - Train Time19. Bill Clifton - I'm Rollin? On20. Tennessee - Intercity

Great songs, great music, and plenty of nostalgiaMany Thanks

It has some of the very best Train Songs on it really Enjoyable

Brilliant, couldn't be better.

One CD unable to play. Will return the box set

What more can I say, a great cd at a knock down price

Some unusual tracks on here but all good...

very good