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Ameritech

AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and before that American Information Technologies Corporation), is an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies created following the breakup of the Bell System. Ameritech was acquired in 1999 by SBC Communications, which subsequently acquired AT&T Corporation in 2006, becoming the present-day AT&T.

Overview
Ameritech was created as a holding company that owned five former Bell System companies in the Midwest. Under its umbrella were:
 * Illinois Bell Telephone Company
 * Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Inc.
 * Michigan Bell Telephone Company
 * Ohio Bell Telephone Company
 * Wisconsin Bell, Inc.

For Ameritech's first nine years, it maintained these Bell brands inherited from the Bell System—though public displays of the Bell companies' names were often captioned "An Ameritech Company". In January 1993, Ameritech officially retired the Bell brands and marketed itself with solely the Ameritech name across all five states in its territory. It added "d/b/a Ameritech (state)" to the names of its Bells to communicate brand unity.

Ameritech also owned Ameritech Cellular, a wireless company that operated cellular networks in many of the major cities of these states. Ameritech Cellular was previously called Ameritech Mobile Communications. Ameritech also provided cable television service in select areas as part of the Americast venture with other phone companies during the 1990s.

Ameritech Advanced Data Services (AADS) Network Access Point (NAP) was one of the original four National Science Foundation exchange points in the United States starting in 1994. AADS was a Tier 1 network Internet Exchange Point in Chicago, Illinois that provided service to higher education and research networks via a program called Star TAP and commercial networks. After the merger with SBC, AADS did business as the SBC Network Access Point or SBC/AADS NAP.

Prior to its merger with SBC Communications, Ameritech's corporate headquarters were in a leased space above the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on floors 34 through 39 of 30 S Wacker Dr, Chicago. Further corporate offices were located at 225 W Randolph St, Chicago (formerly "The Illinois Bell Building") and 2000 W. Ameritech Center Drive, Hoffman Estates) ("The Ameritech Center"). It was traded on the NYSE under the "AIT" symbol.

Merger with SBC Communications
In May 1998, Ameritech announced its intent to merge with SBC Communications. This brought great concern to Federal and state regulators, who in turn didn't approve the merger until SBC and Ameritech agreed to several conditions to ensure adequate competition. Most notably, regulators required:

 * that the merged company offer local phone service in thirty markets outside of its home territory within thirty months of the merger (i.e. by April 2002) or pay a $1.18B penalty
 * and that Ameritech Cellular assets in Chicago be sold to GTE. Since SBC already had a majority stake in a large mobile provider (Cellular One), the merged company, if it were to operate Ameritech Cellular and Cellular One both in the same market, would have wielded too much market power.

SBC and Ameritech officially merged on October 8, 1999. Prior to the merger, Ameritech's Chairman and CEO was Richard Notebaert, who later (in 2002) became CEO of competitor Qwest.

The end of the Ameritech name
On January 15, 2003, SBC Communications changed its d.b.a. names, changed the legal name of Ameritech Corp. to SBC Teleholdings, Inc., which began doing business as SBC Midwest. On January 15, 2006, d.b.a names were again changed to align with SBC's assumption of the AT&T brand identity following its acquisition of AT&T Corp. the previous year, and Ameritech was again renamed, becoming AT&T Teleholdings, Inc. and began doing business as AT&T Midwest.

Several Ameritech subsidiaries remain legally named "Ameritech", such as Ameritech Advanced Services; however, they do business as "AT&T Advanced Solutions".

In 2006, the holding companies Pacific Telesis and Southern New England Telecommunications were legally merged into AT&T Teleholdings. The company then became a holding company for Pacific Bell (and its subsidiary Nevada Bell) and Southern New England Telephone.

In popular culture
The Ameritech name was used in the storyline of the U.S. television miniseries Amerika to refer to one of the "sovereign" autonomous regions—Ameritech's regional operating area, the Great Lakes area of North America—that the former United States was divided into in result of the fictional Soviet occupation that is the base premise of the miniseries' plot.

title: Ameritech


text:
James David Forbes

James David Forbes (1809–1868) was a Scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology. Forbes was a resident of Edinburgh for most of his life, educated at its University and a professor there from 1833 until he became principal of the United College of St Andrews in 1859.

Life and work
Forbes was born on 20 April 1809 at 86 George Street in Edinburgh, the fourth son of Sir William Forbes, 7th Baronet, of Monymusk and Pitsligo (1773–1828) and Williamina Belches of Invermay. His brothers were the advocate and agriculturalist Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes of Fettercairn and Pitsligo and the banker Charles Forbes.

He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1825, and soon afterwards began to contribute papers to the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal anonymously under the signature "Δ". At the age of nineteen he became a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 1832 he was elected to the Royal Society of London. At this time he maintained correspondence with Sir David Brewster, who encouraged him to pursue an original research in science. A year later he was appointed professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in succession to Sir John Leslie, and during his tenure of that office, which he did not give up until 1860, he not only proved himself an active and efficient teacher, but also did much to improve the internal conditions of the university. In 1859 he was appointed successor to Brewster in the principalship of the United College of St Andrews, a position which he held until his death at Clifton in 1868.

As a scientific investigator he is best known for his researches on heat and on glaciers. Between 1836 and 1844 he published in the ''Trans. Roy. Soc. Ed.'' four series of "Researches on Heat," in the course of which he demonstrated that tourmaline would polarise infrared thermal radiation, by transmission through a bundle of thin mica plates inclined to the transmitted ray, and by reflection from the multiplied surfaces of a pile of mica plates placed at the polarising angle, and also its circular polarisation by two internal reflections in rhombs of rock salt. His work won him the Rumford Medal of the Royal Society in 1838, and in 1843 he received its Royal Medal for a paper on the "Transparency of the Atmosphere and the Laws of Extinction of the Sun's Rays passing through it." He invented an inverted pendulum seismometer in 1842.

In response to a series of earthquakes near Comrie in Scotland in 1839, a committee was formed in the United Kingdom in order to produce better detection methods for earthquakes. The outcome of this was the production of one of the first modern seismometers by Forbes, first presented in a report by David Milne-Home in 1842. This seismometer was an inverted pendulum, which recorded the measurements of seismic activity through the use of a pencil placed on paper above the pendulum. The designs provided did not prove effective, according to Milne's reports.

In 1846 he began experiments on the temperature of the earth at different depths and in different soils near Edinburgh, which yielded determinations of the thermal conductivity of trap-tufa, sandstone and pure loose sand. Towards the end of his life he was occupied with experimental inquiries into the laws of the conduction of heat in iron bars, and his last piece of work was to show that the thermal conductivity of iron diminishes with increase of temperature.

His attention was directed to the question of the flow of glaciers in 1840 when he met Louis Agassiz at the Glasgow meeting of the British Association, and in subsequent years he made several visits to Switzerland, where he was particularly impressed by Bernhard Studer's theories, and also to Norway for the purpose of obtaining accurate data. His observations led him to the view that a glacier is an imperfect fluid or a viscous body which is urged down slopes of a certain inclination by the mutual pressure of its parts, and involved him in some controversy with Tyndall and others both as to priority and to scientific principle. A notable defender of Forbes in this controversy was John Ruskin, the two having first met by coincidence in 1844 during a study tour of the Alps.

During these expeditions, he made many measurements of the boiling point of water at various altitudes. This data set, published in 1857, is often known in statistics as Forbes's data, its utility being that:
 * It illustrates how a curvilinear relationship between a dependent and independent variable can be transformed into a linear model by knowledge of the physical phenomenon observed.
 * It emphasises the importance of residuals analysis in linear regression as the residuals manifest an outlier that is not apparent in a visual inspection of the raw data.

Forbes was also interested in geology, and published memoirs on the thermal springs of the Pyrenees, on the extinct volcanoes of the Vivarais (Ardèche), on the geology of the Cuchullin and Eildon hills, etc. In addition to about 150 scientific papers, he wrote Travels through the Alps of Savoy and Other Parts of the Pennine Chain, with Observations on the Phenomena of Glaciers (1843); Norway and its Glaciers (1853); Occasional Papers on the Theory of Glaciers (1859); A Tour of Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa (1855). He was also the author (1852) of the "Dissertation on the Progress of Mathematical and Physical Science," published in the eighth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.

The Forbes River and Forbes Glaciers in New Zealand are named after him as is Aiguille Forbes between the Glacier de Saleina and the Glacier du Tour in the Mont Blanc massif.

James David Forbes was a devout Christian, as can be seen in the work "Life and Letters of James David Forbes" (1873), a compilation of personal letters written by Forbes, co-authored by John Campbell Shairp and Forbes's student Peter Guthrie Tait.

He died on 31 December 1868 and is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. The grave is marked by a simple but large grey granite Celtic cross and lies on the south side of the main path just west of the roundel. His wife, Alicia Wauchope (1824–1885), is buried with him. His cousins were Scottish Episcopal Church leaders Alexander Penrose Forbes and George Hay Forbes. His son was the scientist George Forbes.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: James David Forbes


text:
Talk:Nico (album)

Untitled
This looks like a copyright violation. Cimon Avaro on a pogo-stick 20:56 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * A couple of Google searches did not find anything except other sites which use the Wikipedia content. RedWolf 04:26, May 17, 2004 (UTC)

Dead external links to Allmusic website – January 2011
Since Allmusic have changed the syntax of their URLs, 1 link(s) used in the article do not work anymore and can't be migrated automatically. Please use the search option on http://www.allmusic.com to find the new location of the linked Allmusic article(s) and fix the link(s) accordingly, prefereably by using the Allmusic template. If a new location cannot be found, the link(s) should be removed. This applies to the following external links: --CactusBot (talk) 10:36, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
 * http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aup59ke9tkq7x

title: Talk:Nico (album)


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Winchester manuscript

The Winchester manuscript may refer to:
 * the oldest surviving manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is now in Cambridge
 * a manuscript of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which is now in the British Library

title: Winchester manuscript


text:
Talk:Composite armour

Abbreviations
Can someone in the know clean up the abbreviation mess? I think I'm fairly well read in (military) history and current physics, but I cannot make anything out of RHA, DOI, ERA, EDZ. Others may even have trouble with APFSDS and HEAT. Stephan Schulz

Done, although RHA still defeats me. Dan100 11:36, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

 * RHA means Rolled Homogeneous Armo(u)r. Rolled as opposed to cast and homogeneous as opposed to face-hardened. It's quite an antiquated navy term from even before WWI, I believe.

HEAT is an abbreaviation of High Explosive Anti Tank round.

MWAK--84.27.81.59 13:47, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Shaped charges
Some anonymous poster (IP# 81.62.59.111) wrote this:

 * It is incorect!

 * Shaped-charge projectiles made a revolution in terms of their penetrating power compared to the protective abilities of homogeneous steel armor.
 * The problem of armor enhancement could not be resolved conventionally owing to the unacceptable increase in tank weight.

 * This gave an impetus to the development of a new generation of Soviet tanks (T-64, T-72, T-80) which were provided with combined frontal armor that included such fillers as glass textolite and ceramics.
 * They ensured abnormally high protective anticumulative properties which correspond with those predicted by the hydrodynamic theory of Academician M. Lavrentyev, who had substantiated the advantage of relatively light fillers over steel armor when affected by a cumulative jet.

 * The nature of this anomaly rests mainly in the active destructive effect of the cavity-surrounding filler on the cumulative jet. The effect is due to the release of energy accumulated by the filler during the passage of the cumulative jet, as well as to the released internal energy of the filler itself when glass and ceramics are used as fillers.

 * The advent of such combined armor became possible due to the purpose-oriented and well-coordinated work of a host of fundamental and applied science institutes working under the supervision of talented scientists and specialists.
 * At the same time, the problem was solved for protection against fin-stabilized armor-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) projectiles, whose penetrators contained tungsten carbide or tungsten cores, as well as against the high-explosive squash head (HESH) projectiles which contained plastic explosive.

 * Since then, armor protection had to be designed while keeping in mind two rival destruction weapons: the APDS projectiles and the HEAT (shaped charge) ammunition.
 * It should be noted that the combined frontal armor of the Soviet tanks in the 1970s ensured their protection not from the entire range of shaped-charge ammunition but against the most massive ammunition of the time, such as the HEAT projectiles for the 105mm tank and the antitank gun, and shaped-charge grenades.
 * The competition of the tank armor with antitank ammunition continued until the early 1980s. Further upgrading of fillers ensured the protection against HEAT projectiles from 120mm rifled guns.

Can anyone confirm this? I have never heard anything about it before, though I don't doubt that the former Soviet Union did deploy some form of composites.

europrobe 22:45, 2003 Dec 17 (UTC)

The history of the use of composite armour for Soviet tanks is extremely complicated. In the Fifties, the physicist Karolyev (Koroljof) researched, in the context of rocket development, the properties of several ceramics. Soon tank developers learned of the excellent qualities of boron carbide, and the help it could offer to protect their creations against HEAT (kumulatif) attack. So the very first T-64's were equiped with a BC-composite. Then the time came to make the transition to full massproduction. And now the central committee that at first had been so pleased with the superior fighting power of their new tank, became, on being shown the projected costs, strangely hesitant to spend the equivalent of 50 billion dollars on its armour alone. The producers were ordered to come up with something much cheaper. Quickly. They did. And the result was chaos. Having in fact been given the liberty to do what they wanted, as long as they remained within spending limits, each zavod fitted their version of their tank type with every possible and impossible configuration; and worse, they frequently changed these configurations during the production run, reflecting shortages of materials, money and manpower. Very rarely now boron carbide could be applied; if available industrial grade silicon carbide was favored; if not, anything at hand would be used: alumina, silicon oxyde, laminated steel, just steel or even simply nothing (giving the concept of "spaced armour" a whole new meaning). The only thing that mattered was whether the production quotae were met and the budget limits not exceeded. This is why the the text in the lemma is so deceptive: although the numbers are more or less the official ones, they are only accurate for "show models", test vehicles that were specially "cared" for. The average soviet tank falls far below the official specifications.

However, while production standards were in decline, at the same time the very capable Soviet engineers kept inventing better and yet cheaper composites. Also they resorted to the obvious expedience of simply thickening the armour. This other movement, towards better quality of protection, got a new impetus in the early Eighties by the introduction of ERA. The military eagerly pushed the production of reactive armour, as it promised an easy escape from industrial incompetence. At the same time the very existence of ERA had somehow to be justified. Why was it necessary, if Soviet armour technology was so advanced? The real answer: you never know exactly what the zavod has deigned to put in your tank, is of course not acceptable. So the pretence was created that all that composite armour was never meant to stop those nasty big ATGW's in the first place, just normal, common ("massive") HEAT-rounds and LAW's. You never heard them say that in 1972, though.

Confused? We were, in the Seventies, when every other month an excited agent sent in a report that now the real secret of Soviet armour had at last been revealed. But the poor guys on the oher side were too, as even a humble company commander could not be sure that all the tanks in his unit had the same protection level. Nobody held track.

As we are talking about confusion anyway, it might be added that the lemma is very confused about some western tanks also...

MWAK

 * Wow. First paragraph is pure fantasy (GREAT exaggeration at best), as for second, in reality "soviet military" resisted even the very idea of ERA by all means! Only after succesful employment of (their own version) ERA by the israelis, old soviet projects were pulled back from the shelf and given a new life. 195.98.64.69 03:30, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

In the line about Desert Storm, the fact that M1's killed tanks outto five miles isn't very relevant to armour, is it? That has to do with weaponry.--MaxMad 10:51, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * Worse: it was a Challenger that did it! :o)

MWAK--84.27.81.59 23:23, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

How could UK tanks have destroyed 300 Iraqi tanks in 1991 when they fired less than 100 DU rounds (mostly in training)? Were they mainly using a different type of round? Also agree that the 'five miles' tid-bit ain't too useful, so removing it for now. Dan100 18:56, Dec 21, 2004 (UTC)

 * The British troops met mostly T-55's. Against those a HEAT-round would be indicated, I suppose. It's best to spare your sabots for an emergency. Also the curved turret of the T-55 will sometimes deflect the penetrator. And as the Challenger is much less vulnerable to HEAT-rounds, there's a lessened chance of fratricide.

MWAK--84.27.81.59 13:47, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

 * And of course they used HESH-rounds :oS.--MWAK 18:28, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Changed. Dan100 11:36, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)

Composite armour research during WWII
An comment on sci.military.moderated has few details about composite materials research during WWII, especially by Soviet Union. Pavel Vozenilek 23:46, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Chobham armour
It seems to me that this article is pretty much redundant as it is all covered in Chobham armour?Billlion 08:55, 14 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I disagree since Chobham is just one, well known type of composite armour.--Senor Freebie (talk) 13:33, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

This article seems to focus on chobham armor instead of composite armor in general. The description solely mentions how chobham armor works, but doesn’t even give a passing mention to other types. Obviously composite armor is a hard topic to fully break down, owing to the fact that so much information is classified, but there’s definitely enough to broadly describe other types instead of focusing so much on chobham. The focus on chobham makes significant portions of this article entirely redundant to chobham down wiki page. Deathdragon228 (talk) 21:55, 11 January 2021 (UTC)

Compound vs. composite armor
What's the relation between composite- and the 19th century compound armor? The basic principle - combining different materials with different protective qualities - is very much the same. To my understanding, which may well be faulty, the use of layered armors had been discontinued between the end of the compound armor in the 1890ies and the invention of the chobham armour - which en.WP says is an instance of composite armor - in the 1960ies. Can the compound a. still be called a predecessor of the composite a.? Could it even make sense to integrate them into one article? -- 790 (talk) 09:09, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * The difference is what it is trying to "do". Compound armor was built in an era of low-quality brittle steels that would shatter when stressed. The compounding attempted to back the steel with a softer material to help it absorb the impact. Composite armors were developed in an era of HEAT rounds which "burned" their way through the plate. The ultimate armor against HEAT would be a large chunk of jello, but this would do little against KE. Composite attempts to combine two very different concepts into one armor, while compound was making up for poor quality metals. Similar but different? Maury (talk) 16:36, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Thank you, that sheds some light on the difference of the concepts. But now I'm not quite sure if you get the concept of HEAT right, as to my knowledge, the destructive power of these shaped charge projectiles is not based on heat, as the name would suggest, but rather on swaging, which takes place at comparatively low temperatures - so, projectiles based on kinetic energy wouldn't really be a contrary to HEAT. -- 790 (talk) 11:47, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
 * All too true! But there is history here, if you look up references from the 1950s you will often find language about "burning". I'm not sure if this was a real misunderstanding of the physics (which I doubt) or a deliberate simplification on the part of the lay press or the people feeding them this information. In either event, the basic idea of composite armor is the break up the jet; one way to do this is to use air spaces like the MBT-70 or Leopard 2 (sorta in the later), or any sort of low-density material that would "scrub" it down. Steel will do this too, but only at a thickness that would make the tank too heavy. Modern armors, at least the ones from the 70/80s, were far more "solid" than these designs, but used alternate materials like ceramics that had a high inter-grain adhesion to maximize the energy between you and the penetrator (of any sort). DU does the same, but through pure mechanical density. Maury (talk) 12:26, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Information bias?
It seems to me there might be an information bias here to a small degree. The article mentions explicitly the success of the Chobham armour in the first war against Iraq but it fails to mention that it has since been defeated, while not on a regular basis, at least a few times by RPG's and shells in the second, more intense ground war. A reader, unitiated in these facts might make the assumption that this stuff is veritable gold and unpenetrable!--Senor Freebie (talk) 13:36, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

What about "Super Dolly Parton"?
Elsewhere in the wiki, when reading about the T-64 it mentions the "Super Dolly Parton" armor, rubber encased in steel. It's actually mentioned on a number of pages about add-armor and things of that nature, while being brought up in a lot of books and websites. So I want to know why it's not mentioned on this page when the composite armor invented before and after is brought up? 68.3.68.53 (talk) 20:48, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Glass stronger than steel? Yeah right.
"The stopping power of glass exceeds that of steel armour on a thickness basis and in many cases glass is more than twice as effective as steel on a thickness basis."

Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaah no. While glass is significantly harder than most steels it does not have more 'stopping power'. A shot that would ricochet off a 1/4" steel plate will shatter a pane of glass four times the thickness. It is, however, more disruptive to the jets produced by HEAT rounds, and when sandwiched between two steel plates can better absorb more energy. I'd change this myself, but what the article really needs is someone a bit more in-the-know on the subject. Xander T. (talk) 00:20, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

 * Fused silica is a lot harder and stronger than ordinary soda lime glass, and with adequate hydrostatic confinement, backing and densification its thickness efficiency relative to RHA is greater than 1. This is the point of composite armors, that different components of the system have synergistic effects.  I agree that the text leaves the reader with the wrong impression, but frankly the entire article makes me weep for its gross oversimplifications and misrepresentations. Doing the topic justice would require a book (or several).  Perhaps it could be rewritten to resemble the Food article: a highly general description, lacking mention of specific materials and effects, with sub-articles for specific subtopics.  Like the Food article, Composite armor is dealing with a topic of tremendous scope.  TTK (talk) 00:21, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

This is a direct quote more or less from here: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=AD0524050  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.190.109.88 (talk) 08:29, 13 March 2017 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Composite armour


text:
Starlight Express

 Starlight Express is a 1984 musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and electric engines in the hope of impressing a first-class observation car, Pearl. Famously, the actors perform on roller skates.

Running for 7,409 performances in London, Starlight Express is the ninth-longest-running West End show. It is the most successful musical in Germany, where it has been performed in a purpose-built theatre since 1988, holding the Guinness World Record for most visitors to a musical in a single theatre.

Background
Starlight Express has its roots in three abandoned projects: an animated TV series based on The Railway Series (the book series that introduced Thomas the Tank Engine), a novelty pop single, and an animated film based on Cinderella.

In 1974, Lloyd Webber approached author Reverend W. Awdry about adapting Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories as an animated TV series. Following the meeting, Lloyd Webber started composing, with actor and children's TV writer Peter Reeves contributing lyrics, alongside artist Brian Cosgrove animating for it. They pitched their material to Granada TV, who commissioned a pilot episode. The episode was completed in early 1976, but Granada ultimately decided not to produce a full series as they feared that Awdry's stories were not then popular enough outside the UK to justify investing the time and money needed to make the series (ironically, the Thomas & Friends series later premiered seven months after Starlight Express and became highly successful).

After withdrawing from the project, Lloyd Webber heard a recording of an American soul singer, Earl Jordan, who could sing three notes at once in the style of a steam whistle. Lloyd Webber and Peter Reeves wrote a novelty pop song for Jordan called "Engine of Love," released in 1977. The song failed to chart, but "Engine of Love" went on to feature in some productions of Starlight Express and the melody was also later used for "He'll Whistle At Me".

Around the same time as writing "Engine of Love", an American TV station invited Lloyd Webber to compose songs for an animated film of Cinderella. In this version of the story, the Prince would hold a competition to decide which Engine would pull the royal train across the United States of America. Cinderella would be a steam engine, and the ugly sisters would be a diesel engine and an electric engine. The project went into development hell, but Lloyd Webber remained interested in telling a story with trains.

Starlight Express proper began in early 1981. Lloyd Webber asked lyricist Richard Stilgoe to help him revive the idea as a concert for schools, in the style of Lloyd Webber's breakthrough musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lloyd Webber and Stilgoe presented two songs the following summer at the Sydmonton Festival, Lloyd Webber's private event for showcasing new work. The director Trevor Nunn watched the performance and offered to help develop the material from something "twee" to something with more "spectacle and theatre magic".

Together, Lloyd Webber, Stilgoe and Nunn developed the story to include the idea of trains and coaches racing. The choreographer Arlene Phillips was brought on board along with the designer John Napier, who suggested staging the show on roller skates.

In 1983, the first act of Starlight Express was workshopped by Nunn and Phillips with a cast that included the comedian Tracey Ullman. Based on the workshop's success, Starlight Express began full-scale production, opening in the West End in March 1984.

Synopsis
Starlight Express has been revised many times since it was first produced. These revisions range from tweaks to lyrics to adding or removing entire songs, characters and subplots. The fundamental story, however, has stayed the same.

This synopsis reflects the show as it was first produced, in the West End in 1984.

Act 1
A young boy falls asleep while playing with his toy trains. In his dreams, the trains come to life.

The reigning champion – a diesel engine from the U.S.A. called Greaseball – enters with his cavalcade train of several other diesel engines and three freight trucks. They boast of diesel's supremacy ("Rolling Stock"). Next, a steam engine called Rusty enters. Greaseball mocks Rusty, who replies that he will win the championship, despite steam being obsolete compared to diesel ("Call Me Rusty"). The dreaming boy, Control, intervenes and orders Rusty to collect a passenger train from the marshalling yard. He returns with four coaches that make up the passenger train: a dining car called Dinah, a smoking car called Ashley, a buffet car called Buffy, and an observation car called Pearl. Control sends Rusty away to fetch a freight train as the coaches introduce themselves to the audience ("A Lotta Locomotion"). Greaseball returns. He boasts again, this time to the coaches ("Pumping Iron"). Rusty returns with the six trucks that make up the freight train: three boxcars called Rocky 1, Rocky 2 and Rocky 3, a brick truck called Flat-Top, an aggregate hopper called Dustin and a brake truck called C.B. They introduce themselves to the audience and argue with the coaches over whether it is preferable to carry people or cargo ("Freight").

Control declares entries for the championship open. Six trains arrive to challenge Greaseball: Bobo, the French Sud-Est; Espresso, the Italian Settebello; Weltschaft, the German Class 103; Turnov, the Trans-Siberian Express from Russia; Hashamoto, the Japanese Shinkansen Bullet Train; and the City of Milton Keynes, the Advanced Passenger Train from Great Britain. Entries are about to close when a surprise entry – an electric engine called Electra – arrives. Accompanied by his train of five components – an armaments truck called Krupp, a repair truck called Wrench, a money truck called Purse, a freezer truck called Volta and an animal truck called Joule – Electra declares that electricity is the future of the railways ("AC/DC"). Greaseball and Electra square up to each other as the entrants form a parade to celebrate the race ("Coda of Freight").

Control announces the rules of the championship: the trains will compete in pairs, with an engine pulling a coach. There will be three elimination heats, and the winner of each heat will move on to the finals to decide the fastest train. The engines start to pick their coaches. Rusty offers to race with Pearl, but she rejects him, explaining that she is waiting for her 'dream train' ("He Whistled at Me"). Electra's messenger, Purse, enters with an invitation from Electra. Even though Electra is not her dream train, she accepts, leaving Rusty alone.

The first heat pits Greaseball and Dinah against Espresso, Buffy, Hashimoto, and C.B. C.B. sabotages Hashimoto by applying his brakes at critical moments in the race. Greaseball and Dinah win comfortably, claiming a place in the finals. After the race, Dinah objects to Greaseball's cheating. In response, he abandons her, and C.B. comforts Dinah ("There's Me"). Meanwhile, a lonely Rusty has retreated to the freight yard where the former champion – an old steam engine called Poppa – sings a blues song to the trucks ("Poppa's Blues"). Poppa tries to persuade Rusty to race without Pearl, urging him to believe in the Starlight Express. When Rusty refuses, Poppa introduces him to an old Pullman car called Memphis Belle ("Belle The Sleeping Car"). Rusty agrees to race with Belle. They compete in the second heat against Electra, Pearl, Weltschaft, and Joule. Electra and Pearl finish first, securing a place in the finals; Rusty and Belle finish last.

Already despondent after losing Pearl as his race partner, Rusty loses his last shreds of confidence. Poppa decides to step up and prove that steam power is still relevant, despite everyone's misgivings, by racing himself in the third heat. Only Dustin is willing to run with him. Rusty points out that the race is already whole, but suddenly, Control announces that the British train has been scrapped, leaving space for a late entry. Poppa interprets this as a sign from the Starlight Express and enters the race. The third heat pits Poppa and Dustin against Bobo, Ashley, Turnov and Wrench. Poppa wins the race, securing a place in the finals against Greaseball and Electra, but the effort of outracing the others and pulling the hefty Dustin exhausts him. Now worn out, he begs Rusty to take his place. Rusty refuses at first, but then he notices Pearl with Electra and is jealous. When C.B. offers to race with him, Rusty announces that he will take Poppa's place. Greaseball and the other competitors mock him and then leave. Alone, Rusty prays to the supposedly mythical Starlight Express for help in the final ("Starlight Express").

Act 2
The trains debate whether Rusty should be allowed to take Poppa's place in the finals since he's already competed and lost or whether the area should go to Bobo, who finished second in Poppa's heat ("The Rap"). They ultimately decide to let Rusty race. Control offers the engines the chance to change partners. Pearl abandons Electra and joins Greaseball, leaving Dinah feeling betrayed. Dinah expresses shame at being uncoupled, although she cannot speak the word itself ("U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D."). Ashley, Buffy and Belle try to persuade Dinah to fight for Greaseball's affection ("Rolling Stock (Reprise)"), but instead, she accepts an offer from Electra to replace Pearl in the finals. Elsewhere, C.B. hatches a plan. He tells Greaseball he will help him win the championship by sabotaging Rusty. He then tells Electra he will wipe out Greaseball, clearing the way for Electra to win. When Electra expresses his surprise at C.B.'s duplicity, C.B. explains that he has spent a career secretly causing train crashes for fun ("C.B.").

The finals take place between Electra and Dinah, Greaseball and Pearl, and Rusty and C.B. C.B. sabotages Rusty, slowing him down so he misses a switch on the tracks and cannot finish the race. Electra and Greaseball finish in a dead heat. Control announces that there will be another race, with Electra and Greaseball going head-to-head to decide the winner. Rusty complains that he was cheated, but the marshals refuse to listen. Pearl confronts Greaseball, but he warns her to say nothing, as the marshals would also consider her complicit and punish her. Rusty retreats to the freight yard, where he bumps into the Rockies. They tell him he will never win without luck and should give up ("Right Place, Right Time"). The Rockies leave Rusty alone. He appeals again to the mythical Starlight Express for help, and this time, it hears. The Starlight Express, which is portrayed by the same actor as Poppa, appears in front of Rusty. The Starlight Express reminds Rusty that he already possesses the strength he needs if he believes in himself, inspiring him to enter the rerun of the final race. ("I Am The Starlight"). The Starlight Express disappears, and Rusty finds himself back in the freight yard with Dustin, who says he was asleep but felt the starlight's presence. Rusty asks Dustin to race with him in the final. He accepts, and they head off together.

Moments before the race, Dinah, angry with how Electra treats her, disconnects from him. Electra quickly appeals to C.B. to take her place. The trains gather to watch what they expect will be a head-to-head final between Greaseball and Pearl and Electra and C.B.. Suddenly, Rusty arrives with Dustin, and the marshals allow him to enter the race. The race is fast and furious. This time, the downhill track turns Dustin's weight into an advantage for Rusty. Greaseball struggles with an unwilling Pearl holding him back, and Electra uses all his power to disrupt his opponents. Electra zaps electricity at Greaseball but misses and injures Pearl. Greaseball, showing no concern, disconnects Pearl at full speed. Rusty diverts from the race course just in time to save her but at the cost of falling into a distant third place. To avoid being disqualified for not having a coach, Greaseball starts to grapple with Electra over C.B. The fight degenerates into chaos and Greaseball, Electra and C.B. crash, allowing Rusty to win the race. But instead of celebrating, he leaves immediately to find Pearl. Control warns that Rusty will cancel his lap of honor if he does not return quickly.

Meanwhile, humiliated and furious, Electra leaves the race track, swearing never to return ("No Comeback"). Greaseball and C.B. emerge in a tangled wreck. They lament the heavy toll racing has taken on them ("One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many"). Poppa demands that Greaseball and C.B. help find Rusty. Away from the other engines, Pearl fears that she caused Rusty to lose the race. She realises that of all the trains she's raced with, only Rusty acted selflessly towards her ("Only He"). Rusty arrives. He tells Pearl that he won the race and confesses his love for her ("Only You"). The other trains arrive. Greaseball finally apologises to Dinah for his behaviour, and they reconcile. Greaseball complains that he's finished as a racer, but Poppa offers to rebuild him as a steam engine. Control tries to assert some control, announcing that Rusty's lap of honour is cancelled. Tired of Control's behaviour, Poppa and the other engines tell Control to "shut it" and celebrate the second coming of steam power ("Light at the End of the Tunnel").

Characters
 Voices only
 * Control – A child playing with toy trains, which become the characters featured in the story.
 * Mom – Control's mother.

Engines
 * Rusty – the play's protagonist. He is a steam engine who longs to enter the race and win the heart of Pearl.
 * Ramblin' Poppa/Momma McCoy – the old steam engine who was once a racing champion, is the predecessor of Rusty and now acts as a mentor and guardian to him and the freight trucks.
 * Greaseball – the macho Union Pacific diesel engine formerly crowned by Control as the reigning champion and one of the play's antagonists.
 * Electra – a futuristic electric engine known as "the Engine of the Future" and one of the play's main antagonists.

Coaches
 * Pearl the Observation Car – the newest 1st class observation car searching for her "dream train".
 * Dinah the Dining Car is a sweet, romantic, lovable dining car.
 * Ashley the Smoking Car – a wise, smoky and sexy smoking car.
 * Buffy the Buffet Car – a smart, sassy, hot, cheap, quick buffet car.
 * (Memphis) Belle the Sleeping Car – an old but luxurious Pullman 1st class sleeping car from the U.S.A. (designated as a Pullman car in 1984, cut from all productions after Broadway)
 * Duvay the Sleeping Car (replaced Ashley in the 2012 U.K. tour and licensed amateur productions)
 * Carrie the Luggage Car (replaced Buffy in the 30th Anniversary Bochum production)
 * Belle the Bar Car (replaced Ashley in the 30th Anniversary Bochum production. No relation to Memphis Belle)
 * Tassita the Quiet Car (replaced Ashley and featured in the 2017 workshop at The Other Palace Theatre in London and 2024 London revival)
 * Belle the Sleeping Car (replaced Buffy and featured in the 2017 workshop at The Other Palace Theatre in London and 2024 London revival. No relation to Memphis Belle)

National champions / Engines

These minor characters have frequently been renamed and substituted throughout various productions.
 * Bobo/Coco – the TGV Sud-Est or Underwater Train engine from France.
 * Espresso – the Settebello or Pizza Express engine from Italy.
 * Weltschaft/Ruhrgold/The Flying Hamburger/Rhinegold – the Class 103, or I.C.E. engine from Germany.
 * Turnov – the Trans-Siberian Express engine from Russia.
 * Hashimoto/Hashimoto/Nintendo/Nakamura/Yamamoto/Manga – the Shinkansen Bullet Train Engine from Japan.
 * The City of Milton Keynes/The Prince of Wales/Brexit – the Advanced Passenger, British Royal or High-Speed Train to Nowhere engine from Great Britain (cut from 2024 London revival)
 * Silver Bullet (replaced Japanese Engine in 2024 London revival)
 * Orange Flash (replaced Turnov in the 2024 London revival)
 * Golden Eagle (replaced Espresso in the 2024 London revival)
 * Blue Lightning (replaced Bobo/Coco in the 2024 London revival)
 * Green Arrow (replaced German Engine in the 2024 London revival)

(Starlight Express on Ice also included Canuck, the Canadian Engine and Cesar, the Mexican Engine. Expreso Astral had Carioca, the Brazilian Engine; El Pibe, the Argentinian Engine; and Conan, the French Orient Express Engine.)

Freight trucks
 * Rocky 1, 2, 3 and 4 – a quartet of boxcars. Rocky 4 was introduced to Broadway and Bochum in 1987, following the release of "Rocky IV", although he was quickly removed.
 * Hip Hopper 1, 2 and 3 (replaced the Rockies in the US/UK Tours and the revised Bochum production)
 * Flat-Top – a brick truck who longs to become a new member of Greaseball's gang.
 * Dustin – a giant iron aggregate hopper who is a friend of Rusty. He is shy and sensitive about his weight.
 * C.B./The Red Caboose/Caboose – a brake truck. He is a two-faced mischief-maker who causes disaster wherever he goes. A central character and the villain in the original plot, he was cut during revisions to the London production, although he remained a main character in other shows.
 * Slick – replaced one of Rockies/Hip Hoppers in the 2024 London production.
 * Lumber – replaced one of Rockies/Hip Hoppers in the 2024 London production.
 * Porter – replaced one of Rockies/Hip Hoppers in the 2024 London production.
 * Hydra – new hydrogen-fulled carriage replacing Dustin/Flat-Top in the 2024 London production.

Electra's entourage of components
 * Krupp the Armaments Truck – Electra's bodyguard (removed from the US/UK Tours and the Bochum production in 2017)
 * Wrench the Repair Truck
 * Purse the Money Truck (removed from the 2018 30th Anniversary Bochum Production)
 * Volta the Freezer Truck
 * Joule the Animal/Dynamite Truck
 * Killerwatt the Security Truck (replaced Krupp and Purse in the 30th Anniversary Bochum Production)

Ensemble
 * Trax/The Track/Flying Marshal 1 and 2 – a duo of trick-skating freight trucks who wear rollerblades rather than quad skates and function as race marshals but do not sing. They wield the start and finish flags at the beginning and end of the races, tow crashed engines off the track and decide on the outcome of the aborted "Uphill Final".
 * The 2nd and 3rd Class Sleeping Cars – initially portrayed by the same performers as Joule and Volta in the original 1984 production and removed during the show's revisions.
 * The Gang – a gang of unruly diesel engines and freight trucks who follow Greaseball.

Musical numbers
The musical numbers in Starlight Express have changed many times since the first production opened in 1984. Each new production is "re-invented ... rewritten, rearranged, restaged and brought up to date ... rather than just [being] a copy of the original". This is because the show was envisaged as an introduction to live theatre for young audiences, particularly audiences "for whom theatre was a no-go zone". The score is grounded in popular music, which changes with each generation. Therefore, as Lloyd Webber has said, "Starlight Express by its nature has to change".

Later productions have used additional songs with lyrics by Don Black, David Yazbek, Nick Coler and Lauren Aquilina, and with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber's son, Alastair.

This list shows the musical numbers in the original West End production, which have been added or removed over the years.

''' Act 1
 * Overture – Control
 * Rolling Stock – Greaseball and Gang
 * Taunting Rusty – Rusty, Greaseball, Gang
 * Call Me Rusty – Rusty, Pearl, Dinah, Buffy and Ashley
 * Rusty, You Can't Be Serious – Rusty, Pearl, Dinah, Buffy and Ashley
 * A Lotta Locomotion – Dinah, Ashley, Buffy and Pearl †
 * Pumping Iron – Greaseball, Pearl, Ashley, Dinah, Buffy, 2nd and 3rd class Sleepers
 * Freight – Pearl, Ashley, Dinah, Buffy, Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, C.B, Dustin, Flat-Top
 * Entry of the National Engines – The Company
 * AC/DC – Electra, Krupp, Wrench, Purse, Joule, Volta and Company
 * Coda of Freight – The Company
 * Hitching and Switching – The Company
 * He Whistled at Me – Pearl †
 * Pearl, You've Been Honored – Purse, Pearl, Rusty
 * Race: Heat 1 – Greaseball, Dinah, Espresso, Buffy, Hashimoto, CB
 * That Was Unfair – Dinah, Greaseball, C.B.
 * There's Me – C.B. †
 * Poppa's Blues – Poppa, Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rusty
 * Belle the Sleeping Car – Belle †
 * Starlight Introduction – Poppa, Belle, Rusty
 * Race: Heat 2 – Electra, Pearl, Weltschaft, Joule, Rusty, Belle
 * Boy, Boy, Boy – Poppa, Rusty, Belle, Trucks
 * Race: Heat 3 – Bobo, Ashley, Turnov, Wrench, Poppa, Dustin †
 * Laughing Stock – The Company
 * Starlight Express – Rusty

''' Act 2
 * The Rap – The Company
 * Pearl Twirl – Greaseball, Pearl, Dinah, Buffy, Ashley
 * U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. – Dinah
 * Girls' Rolling Stock – Dinah, Belle, Ashley and Buffy †
 * C.B. – C.B., Electra, Krupp, Wrench, Purse, Joule, Volta
 * Race: Uphill Final – Greaseball, Pearl, Electra, Dinah, Rusty, CB
 * I Was Robbed – C.B., Rusty, Greaseball and Pearl
 * Right Place, Right Time – Rocky I, Rocky II, Rocky III
 * I Am The Starlight – Rusty, Starlight Express, Dustin
 * Rusty and Dustin – Rusty, Dustin
 * Dinah's Disco – Dinah, Electra, Krupp, Wrench, Purse, Volta, Joule, C.B. †
 * Race: Downhill Final – Greaseball, Pearl, Electra, CB, Rusty, Dustin
 * No Comeback – Electra, Krupp, Wrench, Purse, Joule, Volta †
 * One Rock & Roll Too Many – Greaseball, C.B.
 * Only He – Pearl †
 * Only You – Pearl, Rusty †
 * Light at the End of the Tunnel – The Company

The New Starlight Express (1992)
 * Overture – Control, Mom
 * Entry of National Engines – Control, Bobo, Expresso, Ruhrgold, Turnov, Nintendo, The Prince of Wales.
 * Rolling Stock – Greaseball, Gang
 * Taunting Rusty – Rusty, Nationals Engines, Gang
 * Call Me Rusty – Rusty, Pearl, Dinah, Buffy, Ashley
 * Rusty, Can't Be Serious – Pearl, Dinah, Ashley, Buffy
 * A Lotta Locomotion – Pearl, Dinah, Buffy, Ashley
 * He'll Whistle at Me – Pearl, Dinah, Ashley, Buffy, Pearl
 * Freight – Pearl, Ashley, Dinah, Buffy, Rocky 1, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Dustin, Flat-Top
 * AC/DC – Electra, Krupp, Wrench, Purse, Joule, Volta, Company
 * Pumping Iron – Greaseball, Coaches, Joule, Volta, Wrench
 * Coda of Freight – The Company
 * Hitching and Switching – Control, Buffy, Ashley, Pearl, Rusty
 * Crazy – Rusty, Pearl, Coaches
 * Pearl, You've Been Honoured – Pearl, Rusty, Purse
 * Make Up My Heart – Pearl, Rusty
 * Race One – Control
 * Poppa's Blues – Poppa, Rocky 3, Flat-Top, Rocky 2, Dustin
 * After Blues – Rockies, Poppa, Rusty, Dustin
 * Starlight Short – Poppa, Control, Rusty, Rocky 1, Flat-Top, Dustin
 * Race Two – Control, Poppa
 * Laughing Stock – Poppa, Rusty, Greaseball, Gang, Freight, Electra, Pearl, Components, Flat-Top, Carriages, Bobo, Dustin
 * Starlight Express – Rusty

 * The Rap – The Company
 * Pearl Whirl – Greaseball, Pearl, Dinah, Electra, Ashley, Buffy
 * U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. – Dinah
 * Rolling Stock (Reprise) – Buffy, Ashley, Dinah
 * Dinah, You're Honoured – Purse, Dinah, Ashley, Buffy, Rusty
 * Race Three – Control
 * Terrorising Rusty – Greaseball, Electra, Gang, Flat-Top, Rusty, Prince of Wales, Turnov, Pearl
 * Right Place Right Time – Rocky 1, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rusty
 * Rusty Alone – Rusty
 * Starlight Sequence – Rusty, Starlight
 * Rusty and Dustin – Rusty, Dustin
 * Dinah's Disco – Dinah, Electra, Buffy
 * Coda of Freight (Reprise)/Hymn to Victory – The Company
 * Race Four – Control, Rusty
 * One Rock 'N' Roll To Many – Electra, Greaseball
 * After Rock 'N' Roll – Control, Poppa, Dustin, The Company
 * Next Time You Fall In Love – Pearl, Rusty
 * Long Live Rusty – The Company, Control, Dinah, Greaseball, Poppa, Electra
 * Light At The End Of The Tunnel – Poppa, Company
 * Megamix – Company
 * Playout – The Band

† denotes songs no longer used in any "Starlight Express" production.

Additional songs

These songs have been added to various incarnations of the show:

 * "Engine of Love" (replacing "Call Me Rusty")
 * "He'll Whistle at Me" – Used until it was cut in 1998 but got reinstated in Bochum
 * "Crazy" (replacing "Call Me Rusty")
 * "Make Up My Heart" (replacing "He Whistled at Me")
 * "Next Time You Fall in Love" (lyrics by Don Black) (replacing "Only He"/"Only You")
 * "A Whole Lotta Locomotion" (lyrics by David Yazbek) (replacing "A Lotta Locomotion")
 * "I Do" (music Alastair Lloyd-Webber, lyrics by Nick Coler) (replacing "Only He"/"Only You")
 * "I Got Me"/"I Am Me" (lyrics by Lauren Aquilina) (replacing "A Whole Lotta Locomotion")
 * "Hydrogen" (replacing "Rusty and Dustin"), sung by Rusty and Hydra.

West End (1984–2002, 2024)
The original production (1984–1992)

The first production of Starlight Express opened on 27 March 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Trevor Nunn directed it. Arlene Phillips created the roller-skating choreography. John Napier designed the set, which featured race tracks extending from the stage into the auditorium, as well as a six-tonne steel bridge which lifted and tilted to connect the various levels of the set.

The original cast included Stephanie Lawrence, Frances Ruffelle, Jeff Shankley, Jeffrey Daniel and Ray Shell.

The production received some minor updates after the Broadway show opened, bringing some new material across, such as "Engine of Love", "Make Up My Heart", and cutting "No Comeback".

The New Starlight Express (1992–2002)

In November 1992, the London production was relaunched with significant revisions as The New Starlight Express. Numerous changes from subsequent productions were incorporated:

 * Twelve songs were removed: the Overture, "Engine of Love", "Call Me Rusty", "Hitching and Switching", "There's Me", "Belle The Sleeping Car", "Heat Three", "Wide Smile High Style", "No Comeback", "Only He" and "Only You".
 * Five songs were added: "Crazy", "He'll Whistle at Me", "Make Up My Heart", "Next Time You Fall in Love", "The Megamix"
 * "The Rap" opened the second act and was rewritten entirely to become an anthem to racing.
 * The "Entry of National Trains" was moved to the show's opening. "Pumping Iron" was forced to after "AC/DC".
 * The characters of Belle and C.B. were cut. This required substantial changes to the plot, as without a clear villain, Rusty, Electra and Greaseball had to cause their problems or be the victims of circumstance to move the story along.
 * Rather than winning a heat each, as in the five-race structure, Greaseball and Electra come first and second in the first heat, securing their final place. Rusty did not race until the last, only reluctantly taking Poppa's place after the title song. After the Uphill Final, when Dinah uncouples Electra, with no C.B., he partners Buffy instead for the Downhill Final. At the end of the race, Electra and Greaseball now crashed accidentally, and Electra took C.B.'s place in "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many".

Starlight Express closed in London on 12 January 2002. Considered one continuous production despite revisions, Starlight Express ran for 7,409 performances, making it the ninth longest-running West End show. The show is set to return to London on June 8, 2024.

The Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre Production (2024)

Starlight Express returned to London in summer 2024. The new production, directed by Luke Sheppard (&Juliet, The Little Big Things), began performances at the specifically-designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on 8 June 2024.

In addition to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe, the creative team includes set designer Tim Hatley (Back to the Future), video designer Andrzej Goulding (Life of Pi), costume designer Gabriella Slade (Six), as well as the return of Arlene Phillips as creative dramaturg. The production introduces Jeevan Braich as Rusty, Kayna Montecillo as Pearl, Jade Marvin as Momma McCoy, Al Knott as Greaseball, Eve Humphrey as Dinah and Tom Pigram as Electra.

A notable change is that Rusty now wins, with Hydra, by making steam from hydrogen (rather than coal). This is in a new number "Hydrogen" (Lloyd Webber and Joe Stilgoe).

Broadway (1987–1989)
The Broadway production of Starlight Express began performances on Broadway on 24 February 1987 and opened on 15 March at the Gershwin Theatre. It ran for 761 regular performances and 22 previews, closing on 8 January 1989.

Created by the original team of Trevor Nunn (direction), Arlene Phillips (choreography) and John Napier (design), this version of Starlight Express was extensively revised from the original West End production. The story was localised, with the trains racing across America for a "silver dollar" trophy. The plot was streamlined, with one fewer race than the West End production. Lloyd Webber and Stilgoe also made many changes to the music and lyrics, notably adding a ballad for Pearl, "Make Up My Heart", which has been included in every production since, and a reworked version of "Engine of Love", the novelty pop song Lloyd Webber wrote in 1977 for Earl Jordan. Additional adjustments were made to the characters' costumes, including giving Rusty a "Starlight Express" outfit after "I Am the Starlight", which was deemed too similar to the rolling stock uniforms. This was eventually removed due to a lack of quick-change time and the costume not being different enough.

Bochum (1988 to present)
On 12 June 1988, Starlight Express opened at the purpose-built theatre Starlight Express Theater in Bochum, Germany. As of 2023, the new reimagined production was still running and has been seen by more than 19 million people. The production took a hiatus only due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, but now continues to run as normal.

The creative team included the choreographer and designer from the West End and Broadway productions, Arlene Phillips and John Napier, alongside a new director, Dion McHugh. Starlight Express in Bochum largely followed the template set by the Broadway production. However, the creative team made further revisions, notably removing a character, Belle, who had been part of both the West End and Broadway productions. At the time of the Bochum production's opening, three markedly different Starlight Express versions ran concurrently. The display changed many times, notably in 2018, to mark the show's 30th anniversary. After extensive workshops in London, songs were cut, characters removed, female engines added, and most notably, Papa changed to Mama. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Arlene Philips felt the current zeitgeist was to make the show more "gender friendly".

The Starlight Express Theater features tracks on three levels in a U-shape, with the audience sitting in the middle and around these tracks. That the venue took less than one year to build is documented in the Guinness Book of Records.

In March 2008, the production ran a talent competition called Musical Showstar 2008 on German television to find the next Rusty and Pearl. Kevin Köhler and Anna-Maria Schmidt won the competition. Schmidt dropped out of training, but Köhler premiered as Rusty on 1 August 2008.

Subsequent revisions
The production has been updated periodically since 1988, taking in some changes from other worldwide shows:

 * In 2003, the songs "Crazy" and "Allein im Licht der Sterne" ("Next Time You Fall in Love") were added to the show, the latter replacing "Du Allein" ("Only You"). A "Megamix" was also added to the end of the show. "Liebesexpress" ("Engine of Love") was shortened. An extra track was added to the set, allowing greater flexibility in staging and more tricks for the skaters.
 * In 2006, the Hip Hoppers replaced the Rockies from the second U.S. tour.
 * In 2007, the Rap was altered again.
 * 2008, the "Entry of the National Trains" was moved to the show's beginning. "There's Me" was cut, and "Engine of Love" was replaced by a shortened version of "Call Me Rusty". "Allein im Licht der Sterne" was cut. Additionally, the title song was reworked to the "When your goodnights have been said" lyric, "He'll Whistle at Me" had lyrics corrected, "The Rap" was changed to "It's Race Time", and the final duet between Rusty and Pearl was updated to the 2007 U.K. tour version of "Only He".
 * In 2013, "A Whole Lotta Locomotion" ("Nie Genug") replaced "A Lotta Locomotion". "I Do" (Für Immer), a new song written for the 2012 U.K. and 2013 Asia tour by Lloyd Webber's son Alastair, replaced "Only He". Several songs had lyrics changed and costumes altered with a nod to the original London production.
 * In 2017, Krupp, Electra's armaments truck, was cut from the production.

2018 revisions
In 2017, Lloyd Webber visited the production for the charity gala in which the show was performed in English and found it 'unrecognisable' following years of incremental revisions. Arlene Phillips added that in 2018, the 'overall tone of the show [now appeared] a little bit sexist'. Lloyd Webber resolved to shut down the production if he could not find a way to 'get Starlight back to its roots'. He wrote new material and workshopped for six performances at The Other Palace in London in September 2017 before being rolled out in Bochum. Phillips directed the stripped-back workshop production with no set, costumes or roller skates. These changes included:

 * adding a new song and musical motif for the coaches called "I Got Me" ("Ich Bin Ich"), with lyrics by Lauren Aquilina
 * removing several songs that no longer fit the theme
 * substantially revising the orchestration in favour of a more rock-based 1980s sound
 * reintroducing the Rockies, replacing the Hip Hoppers
 * changing the genders of Poppa and Bobo from male to female, becoming 'Momma' and 'Coco'. Rocky 3 became female; Volta became male.
 * replacing Ashley and Buffy with Belle, the lounge car, and Tassita, the quiet carriage (in the German production, Tassita would become Carrie, the luggage car, and Belle became a bar car)
 * replacing Electra's money truck, Purse, with Killerwatt, the security truck

In May 2018, the Bochum production closed for a month to rehearse the new material and for significant technical updates to the 30-year-old auditorium. Lloyd Webber, Phillips and original designer John Napier returned to oversee the changes, which Lloyd Webber now considers the definitive version of Starlight Express. As well as the changes from The Other Palace, they also:

 * updated the German lyrics of several songs within the show
 * redesigned many costumes based on new designs
 * installed completely new sound and lighting
 * introduced the British train named 'Brexit', renamed the Japanese train 'Manga', renamed the French train 'Coco'
 * made some characters "gender variable": Rocky 3, Wrench, Volta, and Manga – although primarily meant to be female, female, male, and male respectively – may be played by an actor of a different gender if it's necessary due to vacations/injuries etc. of the original actor,  as well as (as of June 2019) Brexit (original meant to be male).

Las Vegas (1993–1997)
An abridged, 90-minute production without an intermission opened at the Las Vegas Hilton on 14 September 1993, with direction by Arlene Phillips and with Reva Rice reprising her role of Pearl. Several songs were cut, and many lyrics trimmed to make it fit into its 90-minute run time with great care taken to preserve the plot's integrity. This production was the first permanent legitimate musical theatre production in Las Vegas. However, concessions were made through a shortened run time and betting references in the race sequences. The Coaches' costumes were also given a "Vegas Showgirl" makeover during the run. This production used the filmed race sequences from the first U.S. tour (which played in the background during the live races on stage) and some of the set pieces. When the hotel changed ownership, the new owners ended the run before its 5-year contract concluded, with the show closing on 30 November 1997.

Mexico City (1997–1998)
From October 1997 until April 1998, a Spanish-language production entitled Expreso Astral was played at the Teatro Polanco in Mexico City. Mostly, it was a Spanish version of the Las Vegas production (using the same edited script) with costumes and sets inspired by several earlier shows. The presentation was directed by Bobby Love, with the Spanish translation by Marco Villafan. Many of the character's names were Hispanicized, with Rusty becoming Ferro, Pearl becoming Perla, Poppa becoming El Jefe, and the National Engines were localised with Carioca, a Brazilian train, and Pibe, an Argentine train. A cast recording of this production was made but was never released due to complications with the rights.

North America
With a few changes, a downsized version of the Broadway production toured the U.S. and Canada from November 1989 until April 1991. Rather than scaling the show up to fill stadiums, the set was small enough to fit regular regional theatres. The show was the same as the Australian/Japanese touring production, with the "Silver Dollar" subplot removed and the character of Memphis Belle cut completely. With the "Silver Dollar" plot drawn, an abbreviated version of "The Rap" from London was used to open Act II. The races were primarily shown on film; however, a tiny race track extended to the audience. The costumes were based on the original Broadway production, and some were recycled directly from that earlier production.

The second U.S. tour opened in Biloxi, Mississippi on 1 April 2003 and toured the U.S. until 13 June 2004. The show was originally performed featuring the songs "Wide Smile", "Girls' Rolling Stock", and "Only He", but for reasons Troika (the production company) never disclosed, it was later shortened by the removal of "Wide Smile" and "Girls' Rolling Stock" and "Only He" was replaced by "Next Time You Fall In Love". This production featured revisions to the material by David Yazbek, including a new song, "A Whole Lotta Locomotion", and rewriting "The Rap". Due to the restrictions of touring spaces, digital video company Inition was commissioned to produce high-definition race footage in 3D film to replace the live races.

Europe
The first U.K. tour of Starlight Express (now entitled Starlight Express: The Third Dimension) opened on 4 November 2004 in Manchester. The production was produced by David Ian Productions and directed by Mykal Rand. Originally adapted from the second U.S. tour, most of David Yazbek's contributions were removed after Andrew Lloyd Webber visited a performance. In November 2007 the first U.K. tour production toured Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo and Helsinki, using an expanded set designed for use in stadium venues.

Bill Kenwright Productions presented a second tour of the U.K., beginning at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 10 May 2012. This production included a new song, "I Do", written by the composer's son, Alastair Lloyd-Webber in place of "Only You" or "Next Time You Fall in Love". Other changes included the character of Ashley The Smoking Car being replaced by Duvay The Sleeping Car due to the recent British smoking ban, the subsequent redundancy of smoking cars, and the generally negative public attitude toward smoking. The production reused the race sequences filmed for the first U.K. tour.

Asia
A large-scale "in-the-round" production played in stadiums in Tokyo and Osaka from November 1987 to January 1988. Due to the scale of this production, the National Engines and Electra's Entourage were doubled up to fill the performance area. This production was based on the Broadway production, with only minor changes, such as removing Belle and the "Silver Dollar" subplot. The stage design was unique to this production, featuring landmarks such as Mount Rushmore and a platform that could elevate up from the floor to change the setting of the races. This tour went on to Australia through 1988. Due to popular demand, the in-the-round term returned to Japan from 24 March to 18 July 1990.

2013, the second U.K. tour travelled to Hong Kong, where it played at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts from 11 October to 4 November 2013. From there, it moved to Singapore, playing at the Marina Bay Sands from 13 November to 24 November 2013. This version of the show is licensed for amateur theatre groups as The Definitive Starlight Express.

Australia
The large-scale tour that began in Japan in 1987 continued to Australia, where it visited Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, ending in May 1988. (Minor characters such as The Components and The Nationals were doubled during this tour and given alternate names to fill the more extensive arena-sized set.)

New Zealand
In 2009, following an extended run in Europe, the props and costumes from the second U.K. tour were shipped to New Zealand to form a new production. This production played arenas in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland in July and August 2009 and featured some performers from various other international productions.

Starlight Express on Ice (1997)
As the first non-replica production of the show, it was completely redesigned by Feld Entertainment 's On Ice unit with the Really Useful Group. It toured the United States from 1997-9 until 1997-10. The production was directed by Robin Cousins and featured figure- and stunt-skaters miming pre-recorded music. It failed to find an audience and closed halfway through its scheduled tour.

Johannesburg, South Africa (2013)
The South African premiere occurred at the Joburg Theatre from 2 July until 1 September 2013. The production was directed by Janice Honeyman with choreography by Karen Bruce, who was given carte blanche to reimagine the show.

Regional and amateur licensed productions
The show is available to regional and school groups in the U.S.A. The regional premiere was in Tuacahn, Utah, in June 2013. It is licensed through Concord Theatricals.

Awards and nominations
Original London production

Original Broadway production

Recordings
Cast Recordings

• 1984 Original London Cast Recording

• 1987 US Concept Album: Music and Songs From Starlight Express

• 1987 Japan/Australia Tour Highlights Album

• 1988 German Original Cast Recording

• 1989 German Complete Live Recording

• 1991 German Highlights Album

• 1992 New London Cast Recording

• 2013 German Complete Cast Recording

Charts
"'Singles'"

* a multilingual (Japanese/English) cover of the song of the same name by the band 1910 Fruitgum Company.
 * Engine of Love/Steaming (1977)
 * I am the Starlight/Starlight Express (1984)
 * AC/DC/The C.B. Side (1984)
 * Only You/Rolling Stock (1984)
 * Only He (Has the Power to Move Me)/Engine Race (1984)
 * The Race is On (Harold Faltermeyer)/The Race is On (Radio Edit)/The Race is On (Instrumental)/The Race is On (Dub Version) (1987)
 * Er Allein/Ich Bin Wie Ich Bin – Angelika Milster (1988)
 * The Train*/Girls' Rolling Stock (1990)
 * Only You (1992)
 * Next Time You Fall in Love/Make Up My Heart/Mega Mix (1993)
 * Crazy/Starlight Express/Allein Im Licht der Sterne/Mega Mix/Starlight Express (Boy Band Version) (2003)
 * Ich bin Ich/I Am Me/I Am Me (DJ Dagadisco Remix) (2023)

title: Starlight Express


text:
Edward Clark (governor)

Edward Clark (April 1, 1815 – May 4, 1880) was the eighth Governor of Texas. His term coincided with the beginning of the American Civil War.

Early life
Edward Clark was born on April 1, 1815, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father was named Elijah Clark Jr. His paternal uncle, John Clark, served as the Governor of Georgia from 1819 to 1823. His paternal grandfather was Elijah Clarke.

Clark grew up in Georgia. After his father died in the 1830s, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama, with his mother and studied the law.

Career
Clark moved to Texas in 1842 and set up a law practice. He served in the Texas Annexation Convention and two terms as a state representative in the Texas Legislature. During the Mexican–American War he served on the staff of Major General J. Pinckney Henderson and fought in the Battle of Monterrey. When the war ended, he served as secretary of state under Governor Elisha M. Pease and as lieutenant governor serving under Governor Sam Houston. When Sam Houston refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, Clark became governor.

Among Clark's first actions was to order the surrender of all fire arms and ammunition from private merchants to the state. Furthermore, all privately owned firearms were to be canvassed. Few weapons were ever turned in and most Texans did not comply for fear of future confiscation. (Lone Star by T.R. Fehrenbach, pg 353)

After losing the governor's race by 124 votes to Francis Lubbock, Clark became a colonel in the Texas militia during the American Civil War. In 1863 he joined the Confederate States Army and was commissioned colonel of the 14th Texas Infantry Regiment. He commanded the unit, as part of the Greyhound Division, until being wounded in the Battle of Pleasant Hill. A promotion to brigadier general was not confirmed by the Confederate Congress and he left the service; however, in 1865 he was made a brigadier in the militia. He fled briefly to Mexico at the end of the American Civil War, and returned home to Marshall, Texas.

Personal life
Clark married Lucy Long in 1840, but she died shortly after. He married Martha Melissa Evans in 1849. They had four children, including:
 * William Evans Clark (Apr 1849 in Marshall, Harrison County, Texas – Jun 1852 in same);
 * John Evans Clark (30 Jan 1852 in Marshall, Harrison County, Texas – 9 Oct 1923 in same), who married twice and had at least three children;
 * William Evans Alfred Clark (12 Jul 1853 – 9 Apr 1879); and
 * Nannie M Clark (c. 1855 – 8 Jan 1913 Harrison County, Texas), m. 23 Nov 1881 in Harrison County to Daniel C Wallis (alias Wallace).

Death
Clark died on May 4, 1880, in Marshall, Texas. His grave in the Marshall City Cemetery is marked with a historical marker.

title: Edward Clark (governor)