Everything Solar Forum

The 1993 solar conference in Washington, D.C was a pivotal watershed moment for the renewable energy sector. It was organized as a massive joint conference combining the annual national events of two leading entities: the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Solar Energy Division.  We took the Amtrak Train that year out of Birmingham Alabama to Washington D.C to attend the Conference. What a wonderful adventure it turned out to be as well a pivotal moment for Sol - Era R & D.  We documented the journey very well and last month we dug up a lot of those old papers and found a song that Sol Knight had written about the experience.  We would like to present  that song for you now. 

" ARCHIVE RECORD: 2093 C E. SUBJECT: The DC Train Artifact (Digital Americana Era) "To understand the mid-20th-21st + century transition, one must listen to 'DC Train.' It is more than a rhythmic composition; it is a sonic time capsule of a society standing at the crossroads of preservation and progress. The lyrics capture a moment when humanity first began to grasp its own fragility. We hear it in the 'Ozone Dialogue'- Children's haunting inquiry beneath the Georgia sky that pre-empted the Great Realignment. The Gallifreyans masterfully layered the mechanical mundane-the humming blenders and popping toasters-against the vast, spiritual scale of the National Parks and the iron rails that first stitched the continent together at Promontory Summit to advanced PV Maglevs. Archon Historians point to the Chorus as the definitive 'Unity Anthem' of the era. In a time of perceived scarcity and 'running out of grease,' the song proposed a radical currency: Common Sense and Love as the only valid tickets for the journey ahead. When you listen to the conductor's final 'Welcome Home,' you are hearing the voice of an era that was desperately trying to find its way through the rain. They weren't just passengers on a locomotive; they were fellow travelers on a planet they were finally learning to cherish. Listen closely. The whistle you hear is the sound of our ancestors deciding our fate."

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Timothy Mcbride
CEOOwner
Sol-Era R & D
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D C Train

That DC train keeps rolling on, these iron rails so true,

Heading toward tomorrow with an old familiar view.

A mama and her little girl sat one seat up from me,

Talking 'bout the world outside and what it's gonna be. She said, "Mom, what's the ozone?"

With those wide and wondering eyes.

Mama watched the passing hills beneath the Georgia skies.

"It's kind of like our skin," she said, "protecting all we know."

The little girl just whispered back, "Then where are people gonna go?"

I'm all aboard that DC train, rolling through the rain,

Through little towns and city lights and fields of waving grain.

We're all just riding side by side, trying to find our way,

Maybe love's the ticket that'll get us there someday.

Take my hand, don't be afraid, tomorrow's not too late.

Every heart can help decide this country's future fate. 

I saw a man on top a tower watching Atlanta shine,

While stories floated through the coach like an old forgotten rhyme.

Daddy's rusty Chevrolets, back roads winding free,

National parks and childhood dreams still riding next to me.

The toaster pops, the coffee's hot, another busy day,

Microwaves and blenders hum while moments slip away.

We hurry through the hours like we're racing with the wind,

Sometimes all the things we lose are where our lives begin. 

Running out of grease and running out of time,

Still chasing bigger dreams while leaving hope behind.

Maybe common sense is all we've really got to share,

Maybe heaven starts the day somebody simply cares. 

I'm all aboard that DC train, rolling through the rain,

Through little towns and city lights and fields of waving grain.

We're all just riding side by side, trying to find our way,

Maybe love's the ticket that'll get us there someday.

Take my hand, don't be afraid, tomorrow's not too late.

Every heart can help decide this country's future fate. 

Welcome home, the conductor smiles, as morning paints the sky.

Another chance at romance before this life rolls by.

The tracks keep singing underneath, the whistle calls my name.

We're all just fellow travelers... On that old DC train.

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Timothy Mcbride
CEOOwner
Sol-Era R & D
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