Ghost Train
By Joy J. Fine
The definition of a ghost train is quite simple; it is a ghostly apparition in the form of a train, sometimes just the locomotive, but other times a locomotive with several cars in tow, which is witnessed by onlookers. Usually it is seen passing by, but often it is heard, the vibration of the rumble felt or only the light is seen to pass by as if on the front of the train. All ghost trains have interesting tales to go with them. Most are located in the United Kingdom or the Unites States, but Canada has a very famous one that has been seen by many witnesses since the early 1920s.
The story is told of a Canadian National Railway engineer who was checking the tracks late one dark night in St Louis, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1920 when he was hit by a train. He was supposed to have been decapitated. The belief is that the engineer is searching the tacks for his missing head and that is why the lantern light is seen late at night. Though some people believe the light to be no more than a reflection of highway lights but the mayor of this town will tell you that the highway is not visible from the place that people claim to see the ghost train. A camera crew sent to check out this phenomena reported seeing, and filming the unexplained light. Scientists on the scene have also confirmed sighting this apparition. They saw the light of the train on the tracks and saw it get closer like the train was travelling forward.
In Stockholm, Sweden, there is another kind of ghostly apparition that comes with an interesting story. The Silverpilen, in English that would be the Silver Arrow, is a ghost train that is actually a subway train. This one was a rare model, the only one of its kind, an eight car train built in the middle sixties to test the C5 cars. It has since been removed from the line when it was replaced by updated subway cars. Some say the train only shows itself to those who work on the subway lines in the abandoned tunnels. Others claim you can see it in any of the tunnels after midnight when it streaks by. Depending on which story is told, and by whom, the train is either empty when it passes or it has a few ghost passengers. The Silverpilen has also been associated with one particular subway station that has ghost stories of its own. The station at Kymlinge, on the blue line, is said to be the station where the dead depart. One of the myths surrounding the Silverpilen is that people have been able to board, disappearing for anywhere from a week, a month, to years or never to return.
There are many other locations where phantom trains have been spotted. The United Kingdom seems to be filled with them. Near London an engine known as Nimbus was taken out of service and put out to the scrap metal yard. It was completely disassembled as scrap in 1980. Yet, it has been seen many times since then speeding along the tracks of Hadley Wood Station. In Washford, where there have been no trains in nearly a hundred years, where the tracks have been removed and taken over by a walking path, people still hear the noises that the steam trains would make. Many witnesses have reported hearing the steam whistles and the chugging noises made by the old trains. Based on the noises they hear they are certain the train is a long old freight train.
In the United States perhaps the most famous ghost train is that of the late President Abraham Lincoln. The train seems to make its ghostly run on the anniversary of its first journey. This train has been seen by many and there are claims that as it passes it stops the clocks.
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