I think Paul's own description of this piece does it more service than anything I could write.

"Trains" is three tracks of improvised viola. This track came out of nowhere. I had brought the most amazing viola, Henryetta, made in Hungary from Carpathian spruce around 1820 into the studio because of her special affinity with rain and her incredible pizzicato tones. While waiting for my producer, Bruce Bennett to set up the close mic arrangement we use for capturing delicate whispers I caught sight of a candle flame reflected in the darkened studio glass. Because of a peculiar optical effect it looked for all the world like the lamp of a train in the distance. I fell into a trance. The instrument came alive in my hands, groaning and whistling and clattering like a locomotive, making noises I had never even attempted. I finished the first pass and immediately played a second atop it without reviewing it, then a third. Midway through the third pass, at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds i felt such a sense of loss and separation that after recording it I was shaking too much to continue. The hair on the backs of my arms was standing straight up. I recorded nothing further that evening. All I could think of was the number of trains this viola had taken, and how many goodbyes she must have witnessed.