A chain of interconnected special cars, usu. with 2-4 axles, built to run on rails. Pushed or pulled by a locomotive, which is powered either by steam, diesel or electricity. Quite common in Europe and Japan as a means of mass transportation, touted as an alternative to much more energy consuming and polluting vehicles such as cars and airplanes.

Modern designs such as the French TGV or the German ICE achieve speeds that make them a faster, more punctual alternative to airplanes for distances in the 500-2000 kilometre area. Drawbacks are high infrastructure and maintenance costs. Only suitable for well-developped societies with high population density. Even Americans will eventually grasp their benefits.

Train is a great-sounding alternative band, formed in 1994. They toured in 1997, opening for Blues Traveler, Barenaked Ladies and Counting Crows. Train released their debut self-titled album in 1998, with songs such as "Meet Virginia" and "I am," which became very popular. They also released an EP in 1999, entitled "One and a half," and are going to release a new album, "Drops of Jupiter," sometime in 2001.

Discography:

Train
Meet Virginia
I Am
If You Leave
Homesick
Free
Blind
Eggplant
Idaho
Days
Rat
Swaying

One and a Half
Counting On You
Hopeless
Ramble On (acoustic)
Sweet Rain
The Highway
Meet Virginia (acoustic)

Live from Fantasy Studios
Eggplant (Live)
I Am (Live)
Train (Live)
If You Leave (Live)

Drops of Jupiter
She's On Fire
I Wish You Would
Drops of Jupiter
It's About You
Hopeless
Respect
Let It Roll
Something More
Whipping Boy
Getaway
Mississippi
In the J programming language, one can concatenate verbs directly, creating composite verbs which, unsurprisingly, do everything their component verbs do. Such a composite verb is called a train.

One might expect that concatenation would be equivalent to function composition, in the mathematical (or functional programming) sense. However, this is not the case; composition operators already exists in J: Compose (&) and Atop (@). If one wants the square of the conjugate of v, this can be obtained using (*: @ +) v, which is equivalent to *: (+ v).

Instead, trains are broken down into their composite forks and hooks. Specifically, the J interpreter counts the number of verbs in a train. If it is even, the left end of the train is a hook. For example, in the following, assume that k is an integer:

(a1 a2 ... a2k-1 a2k) v is equivalent to
(a1 (a2 ... a2k-1 a2k)) v is equivalent to
v a1 ((a2 ... a2k-1 a2k) v) (see the schema for monadic hook for explanation)

If the number of chained verbs is odd, then it is evaluated as a fork:

(a1 a2 a3 ... a2k a2k+1) v is equivalent to
(a1 a2 (a3 ... a2k a2k+1)) v is equivalent to
(a1 v) a2 ((a3 ... a2k a2k+1) v) (again, see the schema for monadic fork).

Extended trains are an elegant way to create verbs using tacit definition (as opposed to explicit). Avoiding the naming of arguments to the functions allows trains to be combined without the syntactic hassle of argument passage (contrast with C, Java, and nearly all other programming languages in use today). This advantage is similar to that obtained by using a stack-based language like FORTH, and adds to the mathematical clarity of the model.

For a simple example of a train with length 4, see fork; for a lot more examples of extended trains, see J Phrases, freely available from the J homepage in HTML and packaged with every distribution of J. For details on how to keep trains unbroken for long lengths without using parentheses, see cap ([:).

Midnight Express Train: Destination Los Orgasmos

The figure stood there in the dark half illuminated by the lamp clock coming from the access ramp. Its long figure stretch out in the night in a stand still yet fervently awaited a charge of energy that produced some mechanical thrust of a throbbing piston like movement that will take it to reach an excited destination.

Once in a while there were hissing sounds of breathless grunt that came from the pulsating broiler working over time. The steady flow of energy produced sent a wave of heat throughout the complex blood veins like maze and added the thick humidity already hanging in the air.

The figure appeared to stretch further as the hissing sounds exhaled a rush of excess heat like warm breath cutting through a cold winter air. Given the impression of stretching further the figure started to vibrate and came to life as the unseen force within created motion at slow steady pace. It was as if the slow burning coal from the broiler commanded all the mechanical muscles to moved action and in reaction with such perfect precision.

As the pace increased the scent of lubrication from inside the axis grew stronger while clatter of motions grew louder and faster in orchestra – like harmony echoing the combustion of more heat breathing into the night.

Fully charged motion at steady pace was moving with yet unknown destination but with controlled precision as if it was afraid to lose the power that would break the already perfect mechanical movement. Working in deep intimacy with one another, every mechanical muscles and its counter – part explored the crucial spot and discovering multiple height of momentums as the motion raced with time.

Traveling through this seemingly unending journey the momentum reached certain new height gestured by a floating like bursting explosion that caused the motion to slowly relax and finally arrived at a complete halt.

The figure again turned into a stand still while letting out last excess of hot steams into the night. With its now well lubricated axis the figure approached a silence station with its empty benches.

The dark cold night once more accompanied the now lone figure staring at another lamp clock eagerly awaiting its next embarkation with anticipation of yet another breathtaking destination.

Train (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Trained (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Training.] [OF. trahiner, traïner,F. trainer, LL. trahinare, trainare, fr. L. trahere to draw. See Trail.]

1.

To draw along; to trail; to drag.

In hollow cube
Training his devilish enginery.
Milton.

2.

To draw by persuasion, artifice, or the like; to attract by stratagem; to entice; to allure. [Obs.]

If but a dozen French
Were there in arms, they would be as a call
To train ten thousand English to their side.
Shak.

O, train me not, sweet mermaid, with thy note.
Shak.

This feast, I'll gage my life,
Is but a plot to train you to your ruin.
Ford.

3.

To teach and form by practice; to educate; to exercise; to discipline; as, to train the militia to the manual exercise; to train soldiers to the use of arms.

Our trained bands, which are the trustiest and most proper strength of a free nation.
Milton.

The warrior horse here bred he's taught to train.
Dryden.

4.

To break, tame, and accustom to draw, as oxen.

5. (Hort.)

To lead or direct, and form to a wall or espalier; to form to a proper shape, by bending, lopping, or pruning; as, to train young trees.

He trained the young branches to the right hand or to the left.
Jeffrey.

6. (Mining)

To trace, as a lode or any mineral appearance, to its head.

To train a gun (Mil. & Naut.), to point it at some object either forward or else abaft the beam, that is, not directly on the side. Totten. --
To train, or To train up, to educate; to teach; to form by instruction or practice; to bring up.

Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Prov. xxii. 6.

The first Christians were, by great hardships, trained up for glory.
Tillotson.

 

© Webster 1913


Train, v. i.

1.

To be drilled in military exercises; to do duty in a military company.

2.

To prepare by exercise, diet, instruction, etc., for any physical contest; as, to train for a boat race.

 

© Webster 1913


Train, n. [F. train, OF. traïn, trahin; cf. (for some of the senses) F. traine. See Train, v.]

1.

That which draws along; especially, persuasion, artifice, or enticement; allurement. [Obs.] "Now to my charms, and to my wily trains." Milton.

2.

Hence, something tied to a lure to entice a hawk; also, a trap for an animal; a snare. Halliwell.

With cunning trains him to entrap un wares.
Spenser.

3.

That which is drawn along in the rear of, or after, something; that which is in the hinder part or rear. Specifically : --

(a)

That part of a gown which trails behind the wearer.

(b) (Mil.)

The after part of a gun carriage; the trail.

(c)

The tail of a bird. "The train steers their flights, and turns their bodies, like the rudder of ship." Ray.

4.

A number of followers; a body of attendants; a retinue; a suite.

The king's daughter with a lovely train.
Addison.

My train are men of choice and rarest parts.
Shak.

5.

A consecution or succession of connected things; a series. "A train of happy sentiments." I. Watts.

The train of ills our love would draw behind it.
Addison.

Rivers now
Stream and perpetual draw their humid train.
Milton.

Other truths require a train of ideas placed in order.
Locke.

6.

Regular method; process; course; order; as, things now in a train for settlement.

If things were once in this train, . . . our duty would take root in our nature.
Swift.

7.

The number of beats of a watch in any certain time.

8.

A line of gunpowder laid to lead fire to a charge, mine, or the like.

9.

A connected line of cars or carriages on a railroad.

10.

A heavy, long sleigh used in Canada for the transportation of merchandise, wood, and the like.

11. (Rolling Mill)

A roll train; as, a 12- inch train.

Roll train, or Train of rolls (Rolling Mill), a set of plain or grooved rolls for rolling metal into various forms by a series of consecutive operations. --
Train mile (Railroads), a unit employed in estimating running expenses, etc., being one of the total number of miles run by all the trains of a road, or system of roads, as within a given time, or for a given expenditure; -- called also mile run. --
Train of artillery, any number of cannon, mortars, etc., with the attendants and carriages which follow them into the field. Campbell (Dict. Mil. Sci.). --
Train of mechanism, a series of moving pieces, as wheels and pinions, each of which is follower to that which drives it, and driver to that which follows it. --
Train road, a slight railway for small cars, -- used for construction, or in mining. --
Train tackle (Naut.), a tackle for running guns in and out.

Syn. -- Cars. -- Train, Cars. Train is the word universally used in England with reference to railroad traveling; as, I came in the morning train. In the United States, the phrase the cars has been extensively introduced in the room of train; as, the cars are late; I came in the cars. The English expression is obviously more appropriate, and is prevailing more and more among Americans, to the exclusion of the cars.

 

© Webster 1913


Train (?), n.

1.

A heavy long sleigh used in Canada for the transportation of merchandise, wood, and the like.

2. (Mil.)

The aggregation of men, animals, and vehicles which accompany an army or one of its subdivisions, and transport its baggage, ammunition, supplies, and reserve materials of all kinds.

 

© Webster 1913

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