Hi Joe,

Herewith a contri from NZ.

Taumarunui
==========
TAUMARUNUI
(Peter Cape 1957)

I'm an ordinary joker, growin' old before me time,
'Cause me heart's in Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line.
In Taumarunui, Taumarunui. Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line!

You can get to Taumarunui going North or going South,
And you pull in there at midnight and there's cinders in your mouth,
You've got cinders in your whiskers and a cinder in your eye,
So you pop off to Refreshments for a cuppa tea and pie,

[Chorus]

There's this sheila in Refreshments and she's pouring cups'a tea,
And me heart jumps like a rabbit when she pours a cup for me.
She's got hair of flamin' yeller, and lips of flamin' red,
And I'll love that flamin' sheila till I'm up and gone and dead,

[Chorus]

Now you can get a job in Wellington or get a job up North,
But you can't in Taumarunui though you try for all you're worth.
If I want to see this sheila I've got to take a train,
Get ten minutes for refresments then they cart me off again,

[Chorus]

Well they took me on as Fireman on the Limited Express,
And I thought that she'd be Jake but now she's all a flamin' mess.
That sheila didn't take to me: I thought she'd be a gift,
She's gone and changed her duty hours and works the daylight shift,

[Chorus]

Yeah I'm an ordinary joker, growin' old before me time,
'Cause me heart's in Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line.
In Taumarunui, Taumarunui. Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line,

____________________________

Peter Cape wrote a heap of great NZ songs in the 50s.

Taumarunui (A Maori name, pronounced Tam-ra-new-ee in the 50s - politically incorrect now) is a small town in the centre of the North Island (NZ). I used to have wonderful holidays there as a kid in the forties. The Main Trunk Line, links Wellington and Auckland - 3'6" narrow gauge. The Limited Express ran an overnight 14 hour trip - one train up the line, one down, each night. They crossed just south of Taumarunui.

A few "translations"

Joker=guy, Sheila=girl (used as a Christian name also)

Refreshments = no dining cars, the train stopped about each three hours, and there was a mad dash of passengers to "Refreshment Rooms" in the station building. You had ten minutes to grab your cuppa and pie, then back on board, and off. Railway cups were about a half inch thick..

She'd be Jake = OK

I've got an hilarious description of a trip on the Limited Express, from a book "From N to Z", also written in the 50s. Much too lengthy to post here - if any rail buffs want a copy e-mail me.

Cheers - Sam