Günter Dinhobl (Hrsg.): Sonderband 7. Eisenbahn/Kultur – Railway/Culture (2004)

I. Für eine Kulturgeschichte der Eisenbahn / Towards a cultural history of railways - Peter Waugh: Allegory

of clockwork precision, precaution, minute regulation.

In its rigid order of priorities feelings are out of place what counts here is what’s public, the private sphere is nought {that unfolds as inward drama within the dragon’s belly).

Vast crowds of humans are herded this way and that by shapes dressed as figures, letters or colours.

And should any creature cross the serpent’s path

then it must halt when the demon’s distant approach is signalled

and bow down as it passes in wrathful thunder and lightning.

Rushing towards me, the massive dragon swallowed me up, turned over and over I was accelerated straight into its belly where a multitude of others, huddled together on soft seats waited uneasy in dusty, grim and antiquated compartments.

And everyone offered up their energy to the monster as sacrifice - as far as I understood, to feed the monster and keep it moving.

There were other sections too: one full of luxury, comfort, even beds, yet another area packed to the stomach walls with children.

1 dreamt I could see outside through holes in the serpent’s belly and saw strict crows-in-charge, always active, rulers of my fate, who signalled by playing tiny silver whistles, while up and down inside a slavemaster patrolled the central aisle, warning or advising me.

Yet on finding I’d made no sacrifice of energy to the serpent he became my judge and executioner...

...within the monster’s belly I fell asleep and dreamt I watched a battle rage: dragons against giants, over in flash, at the end all that remained a mass of twisted metal and glass, fire and ash and dust and the smell of burnt flesh, mixed with grass, earth and branches, as if huge towers had toppled into the landscape ...