One-sided LP.
This LP is the recording of the conversations that took place between Wesley, a driver on a runaway train, and Alfie, his controller, who taped the entire drama as it happened. While his colleagues work calmly and professionally to prevent a derailment, Wesley bravely remains on board. 55mph becomes 70mph. The dialogue between Wesley, and Alfie, grows tense. The train hurtles on threatening unsuspecting communities. At 95mph, with a doctor and ambulance standing by, Wesley faces disaster. Suddenly the line goes dead. Can Wesley survive?
The dialogue between Wesley, and Alfie, grows tense. The train hurtles on threatening unsuspecting communities. At 95mph, with a doctor and ambulance standing by, Wesley faces disaster. Suddenly the line goes dead. Can Wesley survive?
“On March 9th, 1948, a Canadian rail controller named Alfie taped his conversation with Wesley, a driver of a runaway train that had sped up to 95mph, and his own efforts to prevent a disastrous derailment. The recording, circulated among tape-traders for years and previewed on an Ash compilation or two, is presented on this one-sided LP. It’s a real-life thriller with the voyeuristic frisson of an air-plane’s ‘black box’ recording and the mounting tension of, say, Speed. The things that make clear the difference between this and ordinary radio drama, though, are the nerve-wracking (sic) silences (there are moments when the only thing that can be done is waiting) and the problems in communication: the train is loud, the transmission is full of static, and everybody’s desparately trying to keep calm enough to figure out what to do. Listeners will think “what did he just say?” – and then realize that, in the position of the people involved, not understanding a few words could mean the difference between life and death.”