High in the Cascades, a locomotive steams through a network of hills and valleys containing isolated settlements & communities (101 Valley Farms). The pace mounts as we struggle up steep gradients into barren and deserted highlands; thundering alongside sheer cliff faces and over narrow trestles until a derailment puts a sudden end to proceedings (Desolation Pass to Hell's Peak). Whilst repairs are made, time is taken for reflection on the many lives lost in the creation and operation of the railroad (Remembrance Canyon Park). Finally our journey resumes its downhill stretch to our destination on the foothills of the coast (Race to the Sea).

Some say, that if you listen closely on a dark night, you might still hear the ghosts of the railway workers marching ever onwards to build their next railroad.

"The Last Train to Desolation Pass" is the second in a series of instrumental recordings that tries to convey a story through a cinematic juxtaposition of disparate music and styles and moods. Given the limitations at the time of composition imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, everything apart from a few guest overdubs were performed and recorded by myself alone, with only the instruments and equipment I had to hand at the time.