The Entry of the National Engines (just Entry of Trains in the Wembley revival) introduces the ensemble engines who are competing in the Championship Race.
Context[]
As Control introduces the contender to the audience, each engine takes a moment to show off and take a bow. The ensemble engines have few other chances to take the limelight, so this number is the chance for the audience to identify these racers as a set. In early productions each engine was introduced with accurate technical information for the train they represent (such as 120mph Sud-est, Bobo) but later productions leaned into childish representations of the country represented (such as "Pizza Express" from Italy, Espresso).
In the original running order, having met the National Engines, Greaseball and "from the sidings - Rusty", Control calls for "Any last entries", at which point the power surges, blacks out, and Electra approaches. In most productions after the original 1984 London production, the last and greatest engine Control announces is "from the US of A" - Greaseball the reigning champion, leading into "Rolling Stock".
Staging[]
Each Engine in turn takes a moment centre stage, greeting the audience and showing off. For example, The Italian Engine often finds a woman in the audience to flirt with, The British Engine is always running late and arrives backwards, and The Japanese Engine will show off their most impressive acrobatic trick.
Generally each competitor is accompanied by a Marshal carrying their national flag. the Engines often makes their entrance wearing their racing helmet, which they take off and hand to a marshal. This makes this scene the only time we see The British Engine's helmet as he never makes it to the race. Depending on production, the flag-bearing marshals may be trick skaters, or other ensemble members such as performers who play Freight and Components.
History[]
In the original London production, the Entry of the National Engines was positioned just before "AC/DC". Control called for all the entries for the races to line up for a parade. This introduced not only the National Engines, but also Rusty as the underdog and Greaseball as the current Champion. Control then put out a call for any late entries, cueing Electra's entrance.
In the Broadway and subsequent productions, the Overture was often removed and Entry of the National Engines was moved to be second number in the show. During the late 1990s/early 2000s, the German Production reverted to the original format for this number, introducing the National Engines prior to "AC/DC".
The 30th anniversary production in Bochum and the London revival reinstate the Overture, with Control introducing the engines immediately afterwards.
Lyrics[]
Original London Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | Control, Control! |
| Coaches and Trucks to selection grid. | |
| Racetime minus 10 minutes. | |
| Champion Engines assemble for Parade! | |
| National Champions for Parade. | |
| From France, the 120mph Sud-est! | |
| The power of the Sud-est, Bobo! | |
| From Italy, the 100mph Rome to Milan Express. The Settebello. | |
| Powered by Espresso. | |
| From Germany, the 110mph, the 103 Class. | |
| Weltschaft. | |
| From Russia - as fast as possible - the Trans-Siberian Express. | |
| Powered by Turnov. | |
| From England, occasionally, the Advanced Passenger Train. | |
| The City of Milton Keynes! | |
| From Japan, the Shinkansen Bullet Train. | |
| The power of the bullet - Hashamoto. | |
| The reigning champion - the Pacific Daylight. | |
| The power of the pacific - Greaseball | |
| From the sidings... Rusty the steamer. | |
| RUSTY: | Nobody can do it like a steam train! |
| ALL: | Rusty go home, Rusty go home. |
| Rusty, get back, clear off the track! | |
| CONTROL: | Entries closing, Entries closing... |
| Closing once, closing twice... | |
| (into AC/DC) |
1st US Tour Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | This is Control. This is Control. |
| Listen up! Racetime minus ten minutes. | |
| International Engines assemble for Parade. | |
| Assemble for the Parade! | |
| From France, the 120mph Sud-est! | |
| The power of the Sud-est, Bobo! | |
| From Italy, the Milan Express. The Settebello. | |
| Powered by Espresso! | |
| From Germany, the 110mph, the 103 Class. | |
| Powered by Weltschaft. | |
| From Russia - as fast as possible - the Trans-Siberian Express. | |
| Powered by Turnov. | |
| From Japan, the Shinkansen Bullet Train. | |
| The power of the bullet - Hashamoto. | |
| Any more entries? | |
| Sorry, we have a technical problem - a little interference... | |
| Oh boy, I think we have a superstar challenger! | |
| (into AC/DC) |
German Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | Hier ist Control, hier ist Control. |
| Hört zu: noch zehn Minuten bis zum ersten Rennen! | |
| Internationale Züge für die Parade aufstellen, | |
| Für die Parade aufstellen! | |
| Aus Italien: der Rom-Mailand Express | |
| Settebello, angetrieben von Espresso! | |
| Aus Frankreich: der TGV, | |
| Die Kraft des Süd-Ostens, Bobo! | |
| Aus Russland: so schnell, wie möglich. | |
| Der Transsibirienexpress, angetrieben von Turnov! | |
| Aus Japan: der Shinkansen Zug, | |
| Angetrieben von Hashamoto! | |
| Aus Deutschland: immer pünktlich, | |
| Der ICE, angetrieben von Ruhrgold. | |
| Noch weitere Anmeldungen? | |
| Scheint, wir haben ein technisches Problem. | |
| Aber das haben wir gleich. | |
| Oh man, wir haben noch einen, der bei Rennen mitmacht! | |
| Wir haben einen Superstar als Herausforderer! | |
| (into AC/DC) |
Revised London Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | This is Control! This is Control! |
| Tonight is race-night! | |
| Let's hear it for the champion engines of the world! | |
| From France, the 120mph Sudest. | |
| The power of the Sudest - Bobo! | |
| From Italy, the Rome to Milan Express, the Settebello. | |
| Powered by Espresso! | |
| From Germany, Right on time, the Intercontinental Express. | |
| Powered by Ruhrgold. | |
| From Russia, as fast as possible, the Trans-Siberian Express. | |
| Powered by Turnov! | |
| From Japan, the Shinkansen Bullet Train. | |
| The power of the Bullet - Nintendo! | |
| From Great Britain, battling through the wrong kind of snow, the royal train! | |
| Powered by the Prince of Wales! | |
| (British Rail announce a delay in the arrival of the royal train. | |
| This is due to staffing difficulties) | |
| And from the U.S. of A, the reigning champion! | |
| The greatest Diesel Locomotive in History, the Union Pacific! | |
| Powered by Greaseball! | |
| (into Rolling Stock) |
1997 Mexico + Translation[]
| CONTROL (Spanish): | Trenes, aquí Control | CONTROL (English): | Trains, here is Control |
| Hoy es noche de carrera, | Tonight is the night of the race | ||
| Querido público | Attention public | ||
| Reciban con un gran aplauso a | Receive with applause | ||
| Los trenes campeones del mundo | The champion trains of the world | ||
| De Europa, el más popular | From Europe, the most popular | ||
| De todos los ferrocarriles, el expreso de Oriente, | Of all the trains, the Orient Express | ||
| Al mando de "Conan" | Powered by Conan | ||
| De Brasil, como bólido el tren rápido de | From Brazil, like a meteor, the fast train | ||
| Sao Paulo a Río Dejaneiro, | From Sao Paulo to Rio De Janerio | ||
| Operado por "Carioca" | Powered by Carioca | ||
| De Argentina, el mejor y más rápido del | From Argentina, the best and fastest of the | ||
| Cono sur, el más tincudo de los | Southern Cone, the most sensual of the | ||
| Ferrocarriles argentinos, | Argentinian trains | ||
| "El Pibe" | El Pibe | ||
| De Rusia, la amenaza que va que vuela, | From Russia, the flying menace, | ||
| El expreso transiberiano, | The Trans-Siberian express | ||
| Operado por "Boris" | Powered by Boris | ||
| De Japón, el sensacional tren bala, | From Japan, the sensational bullet train | ||
| Y el poder de "Nintendo". | Powered by Nintendo | ||
| De Gran Bretaña, el orgullo de los | From Great Britian, the pride of the | ||
| Trenes reales británicos, | British Royal Trains | ||
| Operado por "El Príncipe de Gales". | Powered by the Prince of Wales | ||
| Perdón, los trenes británicos | Pardon, the British trains | ||
| Anuncian un retraso en la | Announce a delay in the | ||
| Llegada del "Príncipe de Gales" | Arrival of the Prince of Wales | ||
| Se andaba escondiendo de los Paparazzi | He was hiding from the paparazzi | ||
| Y el actual campeón, de los | And the current champion from the | ||
| Estados Unidos de Norteamérica. | United States of North America | ||
| La locomotora Diesel más grande del mundo | The biggest diesel engine in the world | ||
| El "Unión Pacific" operado por "Turbo." | The Union Pacific, powered by Greaseball! |
2nd US Tour Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | Attention! Attention everybody! |
| It's race night. | |
| Let's hear it for the greatest engines in the world. | |
| All the way from Germany – | |
| He's fast, he's clean, he's always on time – | |
| Here comes the ICE, | |
| The intercontinental express – Ruhrgold! | |
| From the huge, giant country of Russia - | |
| Where the buildings look like onions - | |
| Here comes the awesome Russian train, | |
| The Trans-Siberian express – Turnov! | |
| Zooming in on track 3, from Japan - | |
| Where all the neatest stuff gets invented first - | |
| It's the totally cool | |
| Shinkansen bullet train – Nintendo! | |
| And now from England- | |
| The train of kings and queens, of duchesses and duches - | |
| Shiny and proud and late as usual, | |
| The British Royal Train – the Prince of Wales! | |
| And finally, the current champion, | |
| From the USA, | |
| The greatest diesel locomotive in history, | |
| The Union Pacific – powered by Greaseball! |
2018 German Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | Schluss mit dieser langweiligen Musik! |
| Hier ist Control! Hier ist Control! | |
| Heute ist die Nacht des großen Rennens! Heute ist die Nacht des großen Rennens! | |
| Und hier kommen die besten der ganzen Welt. | |
| Aus Japan, die Kraft des Shinkansen-Zuges, | |
| Angetrieben von Manga! | |
| Aus Italien, der Pizza Express, | |
| Angetrieben von Espresso! | |
| Aus Frankreich, der schnellste Unterwasserzug der Welt, | |
| Angetrieben von Coco! | |
| Aus Deutschland, der ICE, immer pünktlich, | |
| Angetrieben von Ruhrgold! | |
| Aus Russland, der eiskalte Sibirien Express, | |
| Angetrieben von Turnov! | |
| Aus Grossbritannien, der Zug nach nirgendwo, kurz vor der Abfahrt, | |
| Angetrieben von.... Brexit! | |
| Oh man! | |
| Aus den USA, der amtierende Weltmeister! | |
| Die größte Diesellock der Weltgeschichte, | |
| Angetrieben von Greaseball! |
2018 German Lyrics Translation[]
| CONTROL: | Stop that boring music! |
| This is control, tonight is race night | |
| Let's hear it for the greatest engines in the world! | |
| From Japan, the Shinkansen bullet train, | |
| Powered by Manga! | |
| From Italy, the Pizza Express, | |
| Powered by Espresso! | |
| From France, the fastest underwater train in the world, | |
| Powered by Coco! | |
| From Germany, the ICE, always on time, | |
| Powered by Ruhrgold! | |
| From Russia, the ice-cold Trans-Siberian Express, | |
| Powered by Turnov! | |
| From Great Britain, the train to nowhere, | |
| Powered by.... Brexit! | |
| Oh boy! | |
| And from the US of A, the reigning champion! | |
| The greatest diesel locomotive in history, | |
| The Union Pacific, powered by Greaseball! |
2024 London Lyrics[]
| CONTROL: | This is Control. This is Control. |
| Tonight is race night, tonight is race night! | |
| Let's hear it for the champion engines of the world! | |
| Shooting onto the track - | |
| It's the Silver Bullet! | |
| Swooping into action - | |
| It's the Golden Eagle! | |
| Like a bolt from the sky - | |
| It's the Blue Lightning! | |
| Piercing through the air - | |
| It's the Green Arrow! | |
| Blink and you'll miss them - | |
| It's the Orange Flash! | |
| And introducing the special train, | |
| Britain's very finest… | |
| We apologize. | |
| Network Rail has informed us that this service has been delayed, | |
| Due to the wrong type of leaves on the line. | |
| GREASEBALL: | Out of my way |
| CONTROL: | Oh boy... |
| GREASEBALL: | Out of my way! |
| CONTROL: | It's the reigning champion! |
| The greatest diesel locomotive in history! | |
| The Union Pacific – | |
| Powered by Greaseball! |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
There is a common misconception that this number was not part of the original 1984 production as it is not on the 1984 recording. It occurred immediately before AC/DC, but cut from the recording for keep the running time short enough to print the record on vinyl.
Weltschaft/Ruhrgold has always been described as "Right on time/Immer pünktlich" - which, in 1984 Britain, was the genuine impression of the German rail network. However the same line, still used in the German show, is now met with laughter at the ironic joke since the ICE does not have a great reputation for time-keeping.
Turnov is referred to as the "flying menace" in his introduction in the Mexican production. A short nod towards the "red menace" term used to describe the Soviet Union during the Cold War era.