I'll have a go Spaw. It isn't directly a train story, but trains are bound to come into the life of a young busker - especially when he can't afford a car and is wandering around Europe, trying to learn his trade.
I had spent a week in Basel, Switzerland, in the early eighties. I had met the amazing Phil Free, probably the greatest street comedian I will ever see. The week had been a lot of fun and I had been hanging out, learning a lot about life as well as busking. However, the first target of the busker is to make money - and I had not done that for a week.
I got the midnight train out of Basel and bought a ticket for as far up the track as I could afford to go. It was Mannheim, less than half way back to Köln. I settled down to grab three hours of uncomfortable sleep. Having barely got my eyes shut, I had to get out and change at Karlsruhe (or somewhere like that). At any rate, I emerged bleary eyed in Mannheim Station at twelve minutes past three. I then had a wait of seven hours before there were enough people around to make it worth attempting a set in the pedestrian precinct of Mannheim.
I started the set. As my show was built on energy and comedy, it was not a very good start. One or two bored men and children stood around while their wives hunted for shoes or tomatoes from the market. Nothing was happening. Only something was. I noticed some activity behind me, quickly realising that a stage and PA was being set up for theatre performance. To understand my attitude problem, you have to remember that this was a very tired, unwashed and hungy alanabit. When one of the techs spoke to me, I could not quite catch what he said. (My German was even worse then). I snapped,"So I supposed it's time for me to fuck off then, is it?"
Back came a friendly smile and some good English, "No. I said if you liked, you could use our stage while we are waiting to start the show..."
It is amazing how a bit of kindness and good luck can cure an attitude problem, isn't it? Ten minutes later, alanabit had a crowd of three hundred people in front of him. The crowd laughed and sang and the director then asked me to go onstage between the gaps in the show. The actors collected money in the hat for me themselves. Two hours later, I had acquired two hundred Marks, two gigs and a new girlfriend.
You never know what you will find at the end of that train ride...