Space Train Cats!

I finally figured out:

a.) why a space train (or sometimes a water train which is referencing the space train motif in some way eg: "Spirited Away") is such a common theme in anime
b.) why half the anime that have a space train also have cats riding said space train or looking at said train.
c.) why all the characters in "Spring & Chaos" (the Kenji Miyazawa biopic anime) are cats

Apparently they are all a reference to the book "Night on the Galactic Railroad" by Kenji Miyazawa. When I saw "Spring and Chaos" after seeing the anime version of "Night on the Galactic Railroad" several years prior, I was like, "there's...a theme here and I don't know what it is." Then I watched the extras of "Spring & Chaos" trying to figure out why all the characters were cats, and it turns out that Miyazawa really liked cats and sketched them all the time; the anime production company thought that if the characters were cats it would be a fun homage to Miyazawa's sketches.

Now I'm thrilled. Thanks, Wecomics nation message thread!

That being said, anyone know where to find "Night on the Galactic Railroad" on DVD? I heard it's out of print.

I should also really see "Space Train 999" and "Galaxy Railways."