The basic “baby train” legend reports that people who are awakened daily by an early morning whistle from a passing train engage in sexual relations because both the man and woman are awake at the same time. Often, the explanation given consists of, “It was too early to get up and too late to go back to sleep” (Brunvand 1999). The story is common in various parts of the country with reportedly high birthrates, but no correlation between the number of children born in a year and usual birthrate statistics seems to be important. Those who tell the story don’t seem to be concerned about whether the birthrate is overly high or not.
People since the mid-1800s have developed explanations for the supposedly higher-than-average birthrate in some areas, including student housing residences or suburbs, or following important events. For example, after the New York power blackout in 1965, rumors swirled that since folks had nothing better to do when the lights went out, the birthrate soared nine months later. Similar stories arose following the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, as people swore that the birthrate increased as a means of comfort following the tragedy. None of these explanations as to the increases in birthrates after these events were verified. Such stories are also reported after nearly every event that keeps folks confined to their homes: blizzards, ice storms, disasters, and the like.
The belief that when bored, trapped, or recovering from a crisis people will “do what comes naturally” accounts for the famous legend of “the baby train” and others like it. Jan Harold Brunvand explains that stories like “the baby train” illustrate the human tendency to attempt to explain things by how people imagine that others might act in a given situation. The “baby train” story has persisted since trains became permanent parts of the culture, but variations suggest that early morning foghorn soundings in coastal areas are used to explain the same result, so the legend could be even older. Jan Harold Brunvand mentions versions in several countries besides the United States, so the story has worldwide appeal.
Linda Urschel
See also Storytelling; Urban Legends/Urban Belief Tales; Women in Folklore
Further Reading
Brunvand, Jan Harold. 1999. Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends. New York: W. W. Norton.
Brunvand, Jan Harold. 2001. Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. New York: W. W. Norton.