A very quiet Kings Cross station
They say Railwaymen are superstitious. Many tales have been passed on, often told in a pub or around a lighted oil lamp well into the wee hours of the morning. Passed on through the generations stories can get exaggerated and changed throughout the years. This is the nature of folk stories and legends. Some legends seem to stick over time.
The romance of the railways contributes to this, from Dickens 'The Signalman' to tales of hell trains, taking lost souls on their final journeys.
The Stories
One of the most famous stories from the United States is that of Abraham Lincoln's funeral train. The legend states that the train re-traces the route from Washington DC to Springfield, Il. The apparition allegedly stops clocks and watches and has a skeletal jazz band on board.
The 'Old Nashville', Abraham Lincoln's funeral train. She pulled the train between Washington D.C. and Springfield, Illinois
The London Underground opened in 1863, unsurprisingly for its age there are countless ghost stories coming from the tube.
'Ghosts of the Underground' is a TV documentary that was made in 2005, detailing some of the most well-known stories of the sub-terreanean railway network. Part of this legend is Covent Garden station, with the spectre of a local actor terrorising the station staff.
The legend of Holborn Station is that it has a secret tunnel leading directly to the Egyptian Room at the British Museum. Amen-Ra is supposed to come out and haunt the disused British Museum station.
Aldwych is arguably one of the most famous. Alleged to be haunted by the ghost of Francis Maria Kelly, star of her one-woman show at the Strand Theatre, saddened by the closure of the theatre, putting an end to her show. Strong smells and the sounds of singing are said to emanate from the tunnels.
Class 700 '700154' approaching Conington
In October 1948, Colonel Mellows was heading home with his friend Mr Percival when tragedy struck. Mellows was driving home as he approached the crossing he got out and saw a train standing on the south side of the crossing, which was the 4pm train to London. His friend opened the gate as he drove across the tracks. The train ploughed into the car from the opposite direction. Mellows and his dog were killed instantly.
Seven months before six German prisoners-of-war had been killed when the lorry they were travelling in was hit by a light engine.
Mellows was buried alongside his dog beside the railway tracks. His figure still drives up to the crossing and opens the gates.
Just a short drive up the A1 from Conington brings you to the site of two local tales. The site is Wansford Station. There are two stories from Wansford, the first being of the tunnel. The tunnel was constructed by Irish navvies and it is said that bangs, fighting and loud cries, as well as tools disappearing. One man claiming he was 'knocked out' by an invisible assailant.
The second one comes from the tunnel too. 'Snowy', the station masters pet cat went missing. The station master ventured towards the tunnel and found Snowy at the tunnel portal. The station master failed to notice the train emerging from the tunnel and was killed. Snowy survived the encounter. Curiously, it's not the station master that has been seen, but Snowy the white cat. He has been seen wandering around the tunnel entrance.
Rothley on the Great Central Railway is of personal interest to me. I will let the website for Northants Paranormal take you through the full history here
My personal tale is very straightforward really. I was recording 47406 backing up at Rothley, having just arrived at the station and recording the loco off the train and backing towards the other platform. This was on the first train out of Loughborough and Rothley was very quiet. A quite distinct 'damned' can be heard right at the start of the clip. It sure as hell wasn't me and I've tried to replicate the voice on the same microphone and camera but could not get it to sound the same. Corroborated this with the Northants Paranormal evidence, and they've experienced that same phenomena.
Cursed Traction
It's not just stations that are supposed to be haunted, but some locomotives seem to also gain a resident spirit. Locomotives are often at the scene of major tragedies.
BR Standard 4 75027 - This was told to me by a volunteer and I've not been able to find anything that corroborates the story elsewhere. The story behind 75027 is a little sad. By all accounts, when the loco has been sitting cold people have heard banging sounds coming from the locomotive.
BR Standard 4 '75027' at Horsted Keynes
The story behind the banging is that while she was in steam once, a fireman somehow slipped or was sucked into the firebox (I'm not sure about this bit either).
47299 - Renumbered from 47216, this class 47 is said to be cursed. A clairvoyant contacted British Rail to advise them that it was going to be in an accident. This loco was eventually in an accident at Wrawby Junction.
D326 - This Class 40 is one of the most (in)famous locomotives. It was the loco involved in the 1963 Great Train robbery. It was also the scene of a secondman being electrocuted and in 1965 was affected by a total brake failure incident. D326 was one of the earliest to be cut up.
D326 - This Class 40 is one of the most (in)famous locomotives. It was the loco involved in the 1963 Great Train robbery. It was also the scene of a secondman being electrocuted and in 1965 was affected by a total brake failure incident. D326 was one of the earliest to be cut up.
Truth or a bunch of mumbo jumbo?
That's the million dollar question really and comes down to your personal beliefs. Much of the evidence provided is anecdotal. Can a locomotive be haunted or are we talking a lot of coincidences. Can the strange occurrences be put down to simply 'seeing things' that are not there, or is there a spirit world unwilling to leave their beloved railways?
We could argue till the cows come home putting forward evidence for and against, spiritual beliefs and personal experience. As someone who has experienced some personal events, I've become a believer through those events and also growing up with stories in the family.
I think nearly every heritage railway in the UK and abroad probably will have its own tales to tell. As ever, never be afraid to ask. You might bump into the railway sceptic, but I'm sure many will take great pleasure in passing on their tales.
Does spending your eternity at the railway sound all the bad?
We could argue till the cows come home putting forward evidence for and against, spiritual beliefs and personal experience. As someone who has experienced some personal events, I've become a believer through those events and also growing up with stories in the family.
I think nearly every heritage railway in the UK and abroad probably will have its own tales to tell. As ever, never be afraid to ask. You might bump into the railway sceptic, but I'm sure many will take great pleasure in passing on their tales.
Does spending your eternity at the railway sound all the bad?
Recommended Reading:
Railway Ghosts and Phantoms by WB Herbert
Sleep No More by LTC Rolt
Also check out the thread on the Rail Forums:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/are-our-railways-haunted.27768/
Attributes:-
The 'Old Nashville' By Unknown author - http://www.hearse.com/funeral_ceremonies/us.presidents/people/lincoln_president_abraham.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=423878
Conington Level Crossing - https://www.essexghosthunters.co.uk/haunted-places/cambridgeshire/conington-level-crossing
Rothley Station - Northants Paranormal - https://www.freewebs.com/northantsparanormalteam/rothleystation.htm
Wansford Station - Haunted Peterborough by Stuart Orme - Google Books
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