Are our railways haunted? (ghost stories)

[ladydsm]

never been on a ghost hunt but would love too any one else up for it.

 

[Kernowfem]

You are all freaking me out. I am going to poop myself when I am left on my own in the dark in my lonely cabin at the front of the train. eek! .... Has anyone ever gone on one of those ghost hunts that are more common now since Most Haunted started?

Wuss

Cant say i ghost hunt ala most haunted stylee...but i am part of a paranormal group. However reports of hauntings are becoming more and more frequent.
Ive just purchased the book 'shadows in the steam' a book choc full of railway ghost stories...interesting stuff
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never been on a ghost hunt but would love too any one else up for it.

Hi ladydsm If you fancy a ghost hunt, check out your local paranormal groups online. If not pm me and ill send you my facebook address and ill point you in the right direction from there

 

[Polls]

Apparently (Guardian, 'Bad Science', yesterday) there's a guy in the 'States who has a long-standing offer of a million dollars to anyone who can prove the existance of the supernatural.

Needless to say, his money remains unclaimed.

Sorry just catching up on this rather cool thread....but in reply to this one, maybe someone should escort this guy down into the Edinburgh vaults set up a nice bed for him, say n'night and leave him for a few hours. I guarantee he will get quite a bit of first hand proof from that and thats a cool million in your back pocket hehe
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Kernowfem - I recommended that because I know on the forums there are younger members who are easily sucked in to this sort of thing, I know this stuff can have a detrimental affect on people. It's meddling in the unknown.

I understand your concerns, and totally agree in respect for the dead but when you start talking of younger members ie kids, lets please not bubble wrap them. Kids should always be left to make their own decisions and most are sensible enough to not do anything silly after reading something on the internet or alas watching a film/tv program. Kids need to learn. I was allowed to watch horror films and read ghost stories when I was young (in fact I seem to remember a book at school called 'Ghost Stories for Children') and it had no ill effect *she says twitching slightly and laughing hysterically at a plastic spoon* x

 

[CosherB]

Sorry just catching up on this rather cool thread....but in reply to this one, maybe someone should escort this guy down into the Edinburgh vaults set up a nice bed for him, say n'night and leave him for a few hours. I guarantee he will get quite a bit of first hand proof from that and thats a cool million in your back pocket hehe

Easy money, then. Wonder why, if it's that simple, no-one's done it and his fortune remains unclaimed?

 

[Polls]

Easy money, then. Wonder why, if it's that simple, no-one's done it and his fortune remains unclaimed?

Maybe they have but he just didn't want to go?...If he is that determined to find proof then why doesn't he do it himself? Would save him a bit of money...probably scared

 

[CosherB]

Maybe they have but he just didn't want to go?...If he is that determined to find proof then why doesn't he do it himself? Would save him a bit of money...probably scared

I think you are missing the point. He has looked, and found no proof. Further, he believes there never can be as the paranormal only exisits in the imaginations of some people. He beleives this so strongly that he is prepared to back it up with money.

He offers a fortune to anyone who can show him proof of the paranormal. Despite the large amount of money on offer, no-one has yet found any proof, so the money goes unclaimed.

Since it is not possible to prove a negative, then the logical conclusion is that since there is no proof that the paranormal does exist, then he is correct - the paranormal does not exist. If it did, by now some proof would have been demonstrated.

 

[Kernowfem]

Captain speaking...glad to see your still dropping in on this thread
Just cant stay away??

 

[CosherB]

Captain speaking...glad to see your still dropping in on this thread
Just cant stay away??

Well Kernow, when Polls so misses the point (how, I wonder - it's not rocket science is it?) I have no option but to participate, even though I'd rather not.

 

[jopsuk]

It's like a car crash, isn't it? You know you shouldn't be staring but but still, you slow down and gawp...

Anyway, here's the home page of the James Randi Foundation $1million challenge.

A lot of applicants pull out during protocol negotiations. It's amazing, almost as if they realise they're rumbled...

 

[Kernowfem]

Well Kernow, when Polls so misses the point (how, I wonder - it's not rocket science is it?) I have no option but to participate, even though I'd rather not.

Well ones thing for certain captain if it is ever proved either way, it will certainly take all the romance out of a good ghost story (even you would enjoy a decent scare im sure!) Personally id rather not know if there is something out there....

Ive so enjoyed reading the stories on this thread and im hoping people will contribute further

 

[Navviboy]

Don't hold your breath Kernofem. Captain Speaking's beligerant contributions are depriving you of some great contributions.

 

[Kernowfem]

Don't hold your breath Kernofem. Captain Speaking's beligerant contributions are depriving you of some great contributions.

I hope not Navviboy, the old devil isnt that bad im sure. Im hoping people will contribute...they can always ignore the captain...im sure a lot em already do :roll:

 

[Oswyntail]

....Since it is not possible to prove a negative, then the logical conclusion is that since there is no proof that the paranormal does exist, then he is correct - the paranormal does not exist.

That is about as twisted a bit of logic as I have ever seen (and I have studied it!). It is not possible to prove a negative, certainly, but that does not "prove" the positive. I cannot prove that, if I drop a ball, it will not fall upwards in revolt against gravity; but this does not "prove" that gravity exists.

If it did, by now some proof would have been demonstrated.

By definition, the paranormal is outside the sphere of the normal. I would suggest that all current reliable measuring devices are operating within the "normal", and hence cannot reliably be used to prove the existence or otherwise of the paranormal. Throughout history, the advance of science has involved inventing means of measuring things that were thought to be outside normal, and thus bringing them inside normality. By "proving" paranormality we stop it being paranormal.

 

[CarterUSM]

I recommend reading, The attack of the unsinkable rubber ducks, by christopher brookmyre.

 

[CosherB]

Don't hold your breath Kernofem. Captain Speaking's beligerant contributions are depriving you of some great contributions.

Oooo! Get you, Navy boy! What's the view like from up there on the moral high ground? I expect you'll need to extract your head from your posterior to tell us, though! :roll:

All contributions welcomed by me, which you'd know if you read what I've posted. All I've ever said is bring 'em on, but treat 'em like the great stories they are and not as anything to be taken seriously.

 

[a good off]

I've arrived rather late to this very interesting thread. I have first hand experience of unexplained events that occured at a fenland signalbox which was not too unlike the one Old Timer described with the block bell.

As a child I got taken unofficially to many of the local signalboxes as it was a a way of my parents getting some free babysitting and time off from their darling ankle biter. I spent lots of happy hours watching my lovely and kind uncle work the boxes and I loved seeing and feeling the constant and large variety of the trains rattling past. The 1970s turned into the 1980s and still the old way of life and equipment in these mechanical boxes which I grew to love still clung on. The old fashioned railway fascinated me even at an early age and many of the old boys including train crew took me under their wing and showed me how things worked. We were still firmly in the world of Romessee stoves, oil lit signals and loco hauled trains. It was sadly all soon to change, but at this moment in time mobile phones, health and safety and the need to conduct a risk assessment before you could go for a wee were all stiill a few years away.

My uncle was a relief man and by virtue of the very rural nature of his patch, he had to travel many miles to work the large variety of signalboxes he signed. At weekends he would often ask if I wanted to accompany him which as I got older usually meant working the box under his supervision. I was hooked!!

It was a bright, clear and crisp autumnal Saturday afternoon when we arrived at the box to relieve the early turn. There were trains waiting the road at both the up and down starter signals which for the volume of traffic on that line was very normal. I was about 15 years old and hadn't joined the railway yet but by then I was very practiced in the art of working a signalbox. This particular box I had been to only a couple of times previously but it was a very typical up and down AB box, crossover, level crossing and not much else!

At about 5pm we had a gap in traffic. My uncle had spent most of the shift so far lounging in the seemingly ancient armchair with an equally ancient phone receiver placed to his ear. He was providing me with a fine display of multi-tasking which included balancing the train register, rolling a roll up with one hand and reading out 'dead certs' from the Racing Post down the phone to his mate Eric who was working a couple of block sections away.

The dead cert more than likely lost, Eric went out to do his gates and it was time for the tea to be poured and for me to sit down. It was just starting to get dark and at this point we heard the wicket gate bang against the stops and footsteps outside on the wooden boards. Judging by the expletives and mad whirlwind of fag ash as the radio was concealed, my uncle wasn't too impressed by this potential visit from the boss. It was just as well that he had his long standing habit of locking the box door. It had saved him a few times in the past and bought those vital few additional seconds to square things up so to speak.

There was a brief silence before the door slammed violently open against the back wall of the box. The wooden door had a window and neither of us had seen anyone come to the top of the stairs but plain and simply in front of our eyes the door was wide open. Halfway between a mixture of bewilderment and annoyance my uncle went over to the door and tried to close it but the big heavy lock was still locked and the door wouldn't go back inside the frame without having to unlock it first!! There was no damage to the lock or to the door frame and no logical explanation for what we had both just witnessed.

As Old Timer pointed out, lots of strange things occured in these places but many railwaymen never talked about them for fear of being ridiculed.

My uncle passed away in 2004 and many of the signalboxes including the one mentioned here are now just memories. As the semaphore signals came crashing to the ground, a small pocket of history and a way of life was exstinguished in the name of progress. I often think about the events of that afternoon 20+ years ago but I'm very certain at what I saw and experienced. The weather was calm and still and there were no trains in the section to cause vibrations. It still makes my spine tingle thinking about it.

 

[Kernowfem]

A good off. Late or not, thankyou for sharing your story, i thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

 

[Aictos]

Although not a ghost story as such, hearing the foxes howl at night is pretty scary if you're not used to the noise.

Still, once you get used to them, you don't tend to worry what the noise was.

 

[Kernowfem]

Ajax...on the same line....(no pun intended) my friends husband works for network rail, he was called out to a level crossing in nottinghamshire one night. He was working away when a hedge close by started to shake with horrendous grunting sounds coming from it. He and a colleague locked themselves in the van, before another colleague came back down the line, saw and heard what was happening, burst out laughing, and explained it was two hedgehogs who were indulging in a little whoopy!

 

[AlexS]

Was wondering if you'd appear here Mr Off!

There's some odd feelings about places ain't there.

Life would be dead boring if you could explain everything I think. Get some very oppressive feelings around Loughborough for no reason sometimes that make me just want to get in to the cabin and lock the door.

 

[transportphoto]

I've arrived rather late to this very interesting thread. I have first hand experience of unexplained events that occured at a fenland signalbox which was not too unlike the one Old Timer described with the block bell.

As a child I got taken unofficially to many of the local signalboxes as it was a a way of my parents getting some free babysitting and time off from their darling ankle biter. I spent lots of happy hours watching my lovely and kind uncle work the boxes and I loved seeing and feeling the constant and large variety of the trains rattling past. The 1970s turned into the 1980s and still the old way of life and equipment in these mechanical boxes which I grew to love still clung on. The old fashioned railway fascinated me even at an early age and many of the old boys including train crew took me under their wing and showed me how things worked. We were still firmly in the world of Romessee stoves, oil lit signals and loco hauled trains. It was sadly all soon to change, but at this moment in time mobile phones, health and safety and the need to conduct a risk assessment before you could go for a wee were all stiill a few years away.

My uncle was a relief man and by virtue of the very rural nature of his patch, he had to travel many miles to work the large variety of signalboxes he signed. At weekends he would often ask if I wanted to accompany him which as I got older usually meant working the box under his supervision. I was hooked!!

It was a bright, clear and crisp autumnal Saturday afternoon when we arrived at the box to relieve the early turn. There were trains waiting the road at both the up and down starter signals which for the volume of traffic on that line was very normal. I was about 15 years old and hadn't joined the railway yet but by then I was very practiced in the art of working a signalbox. This particular box I had been to only a couple of times previously but it was a very typical up and down AB box, crossover, level crossing and not much else!

At about 5pm we had a gap in traffic. My uncle had spent most of the shift so far lounging in the seemingly ancient armchair with an equally ancient phone receiver placed to his ear. He was providing me with a fine display of multi-tasking which included balancing the train register, rolling a roll up with one hand and reading out 'dead certs' from the Racing Post down the phone to his mate Eric who was working a couple of block sections away.

The dead cert more than likely lost, Eric went out to do his gates and it was time for the tea to be poured and for me to sit down. It was just starting to get dark and at this point we heard the wicket gate bang against the stops and footsteps outside on the wooden boards. Judging by the expletives and mad whirlwind of fag ash as the radio was concealed, my uncle wasn't too impressed by this potential visit from the boss. It was just as well that he had his long standing habit of locking the box door. It had saved him a few times in the past and bought those vital few additional seconds to square things up so to speak.

There was a brief silence before the door slammed violently open against the back wall of the box. The wooden door had a window and neither of us had seen anyone come to the top of the stairs but plain and simply in front of our eyes the door was wide open. Halfway between a mixture of bewilderment and annoyance my uncle went over to the door and tried to close it but the big heavy lock was still locked and the door wouldn't go back inside the frame without having to unlock it first!! There was no damage to the lock or to the door frame and no logical explanation for what we had both just witnessed.

As Old Timer pointed out, lots of strange things occured in these places but many railwaymen never talked about them for fear of being ridiculed.

My uncle passed away in 2004 and many of the signalboxes including the one mentioned here are now just memories. As the semaphore signals came crashing to the ground, a small pocket of history and a way of life was exstinguished in the name of progress. I often think about the events of that afternoon 20+ years ago but I'm very certain at what I saw and experienced. The weather was calm and still and there were no trains in the section to cause vibrations. It still makes my spine tingle thinking about it.

Sad to hear that your Uncle has passed away , a very spine tingling story there!

I can ju8st imagine the thoughts which would have been going through your Heads!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

.....

 

[Simon Poole]

Last week 22nd of June 2010, i was on top of an iron footbridge on the North Wales Coast mainline, the winkcups caravan park Bridge in Towyn, Rhyl

An picture of it is on google maps

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Towyn,+Rhyl&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.387936,46.362305&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Towyn,+Abergele,+Clwyd,+United+Kingdom&ll=53.307589,-3.529342&spn=0,0.005659&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=53.307421,-3.52953&panoid=5Jje9XiCSUbywCM0x--c_w&cbp=12,267.48,,3,1.01

Tuesday night and i was waiting for the Arriva Class 57, was at that bridge around 1930 (7.30pm) the train was suppose to pass at 1942 but it didn't show up becuase it was running 2 hours late, while i was waiting for it, i heard an metal banging sound, it sounded like people were climbing the iron steps of the footbridge but when I walked across the footbridge to the other side, no one was there, it dooes get windy becuase i was near the coast but this happened while the wind was an light breeze, The same sound happen an little later on as well on that same evening but at 2105 i just gave up on the Arriva 57 and headed back to the caravan park i was staying at

Refering to the link, i was standing on the right hand side while the noise came from the left hand side

 

[Bill EWS]

I worked in an old theatre back in the 60's and that was said to hasve it's usual residential ghost!. The theatre closed for a couple of months at one time and I was given the job of caretaker, which meant being alone in this large theatre building on my own.

Part of the job was to search every level of the building at various intervals to check for any problems, such as lights or heaters being left on. It was certainly very eirie most of the time and you would hear every creak and groan of the building. The Fly's were the worst as it was similar to being on a ship with the many ropes under pressure while holding up the numerous massive back cloths. This is where most of the noises came from.

There was a long room at the rear and below stage level where the wind would howl through at times and in the slience of the building would echo everywhere. I could hear these sounds clearly in the room I used during my turn of duty. There was a steep stairway from that level to the cellers, electrical room and workshop that creat their own noises.

Over the period and during the time spent in the small room I would often hear sudden and strange sounds. Ocassionally one would really get to you and that would need some investigating. Nothing was ever found.

The three levels had side stairways from the Stalls to the Circle and up to the 'Gods' which also created lots of echo. Much of the building was of wood and that made for lots of natural noises.

As with most theatres you would hear from older staff that there was a regular theatre ghost but I can't say that I every heard or saw anything that couldn't be explained but there was always that little thought that it would have been interesting to have heard or seen something that would give food for thought or make a great story over a few beers.

However. Just as during my 42 years on the railways and those of you who are working railway people will know what I mean when I say that you often find yourself in very lonley and dark strange places around the country while on your own and when it is easy to conjour up spooks & demons in your mind or even simply being attacked. But again, in spite of hearing many ghost stories over the years I can't say that I have really experienced anything that can't be reasoned with.

The only thing I can think of (railway wise) is that on a few ocassions while driving in the dark I have been startled by a sudden flash of very pink light, followed by a low boom sound that was heard over the noise of the engine and train. The flash lit everything up all around just as if it had been a flash from a camera. Howevever this was on a massive scale that no camera would ever cover or appear so dense.

It happened one time when I was a second man, while running north through Oxford so had a driver who experienced it too but even he could never explain it either. The only theory I can think of is that it may have been a ball of lightening exploding, or some electrical charge in the air around that spot. However, it is the pink colour that I don't quite get! I experienced this a good number of times and in different parts of the country and always the same shade of pink.

I also had an experience that could be a ghost story but in this case the person I saw was still alive at the time. Back in February 1965 I was leaving home for work around 2.30 am. It was bitterly cold, with a few inches of snow and I had to pour hot water over the handlebars of my motorbike to free the steering and to unlock it. We lived out in the sticks at the time, with no street lighting and a little way from the side road that led to the main road. I drove quietly as it was so slippery and as I came to the side road junction I saw this elderly woman walking towards me from the right and on the opposite side of the road. She was only wearing a green jumper and skirt, no coat to protect her from the bitter cold. She was crying and in some distress. I called to her and asked if she was OK. She looked in my direction and for a split second I thought that I recognised here. but at that moment my engine cut out, which included the lights and it was sudden darkness.

I immediately tried to kick start the bike but it refused a number of times. As you can imagine there was a lot of confusion going on in my mind. By the time it fired up I gave a mental thought to how far she may have got but there was no sign of her. There was a good 60-70 yards to the main road at this point and there was nowhere that she could have gone but straight on. I crept along to the main road junction turning my lights side to side but there was no sign of the woman. Again, at the road junction I turned my headlight up and down the road as far as it would allow me to see but again there was no sign of her.

I thought that she may have turned into one of the gateways and so hoped that she would now be safely inside somewhere and drove into work. I was still a fireman at the time and I told my driver about the incident.

It was more or less forgotten about during my shift but obvioulsy on the way back home as I reached the same spot it all came back to me. However, I got back home and just wanted to relax and so didn't even mention it to my wife. After a while my wife said that there was a letter waiting for me so I got it and started to read it. It was really for my wife as it was from her father's second wife explaining that her father had died. He had left his first wife some years back and had married again and lived in Hendon. We had visited him the once just after moving down to Berkshire in 1964. I found him a very nice person and his wife was a jolly, if rather fussy Cockney lady.

Sadly the funeral had taken place by the time we received the letter. However, we decided to visit his widow whenever possible. We travelled up to Hendon and found the house quite easily but there was a shock for me as when she came to the door there was this woman I saw that bitterly cold night and still wearing the same green jumper and skirt. I was too scared to bring the subject up as I didn't wish to upset either her or my wife and I never did mention it. But it has left me with the great puzzle as to what this was all about! Was it just a coincidence that these two women looked alike, or was she desperately and mentally trying to tell us that my wife's father had died! I don't suppose I will ever know.

As I say, not quite a ghost story and a difficult one to explain.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Does anyone have any knowledge of any ghosts at Charfield station? Ive heard a few references to them online, but not much detail.

 

[Kernowfem]

Does anyone have any knowledge of any ghosts at Charfield station? Ive heard a few references to them online, but not much detail.

Hi Stuart. There is plenty of information with regard to the 'Charfield children' Two young children who's bodies were pulled from the wreakage of the 1928 rail disaster, and were never identified or claimed. I believe the two bodies were buried under the stone inscription 'two unknown'. Many stories say that from time to time the boy and girl have been seen around where the tragedy took place, im not sure if this is the case though, as its only here-say. As for the station itself i havent heard any story linked to it. But im not from the gloucestershire area, so maybe someone who is could help you further

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I think Netherfield SB near nottingham:

Signalworkers have seen a figure climb the steps to the box but never arrive.

More tales of haunted trains still in use would be good

 

[Edward111]

Last tuesday/wednesday i was at dawlish station when i heard creaking on the footbridge i looked around the platform to find that the ticket office was closed and no body came out of the footbridge when if you wanted to get off the station you would have to... is there any other ghost around the dawlish area?

 

[leewoods60019]

I uster have ghosts in my house, I would often hear knocks and voices. I didn't think of it as I was only 10 but then as I was earlier I would hear and see unusual stuff. A very rare case of my actually having the ghost on my mobile phone but was delelted by mistake, I wish i'd shown it to someone. I didn't really think to tell anyone of this weird creepy stuff. One night I heard some kind of scratching in the room next door (no one was in) and everyone was asleep. I asked the previous day if anyone knew or heard of it and they thought I was 'silly' I didn't discuss it further from there. I'd often see some kind of black figure in my doorway, confused I would pretend I did not see it. I texted my mate to tell them and they replied. Suddenley I couldn't text, and my internet on phone wouldn't work. Worried and scared I didn't think of what to do but freeze and do nothing. Soon I got it back working and told my mate, she also thought it was a bit 'silly' and funny. I would stay up very late as I could not sleep without the fear of death, It was that serious. Usually I would just lose concentration while staying up late and I would chat some rubbish about this black figure 'getting' me. I didn't realise what I was typing or anything. I seeked advice from this religious girl who adviced me and all that. It was late so I shut the computer down and went to bed. Now I returned in the morning to find that she had been removed from my facebook but she re-added me. I told her and she was freaked out at it. I would follow the advice it worked and i've never really looked back at the situation again. About 5 years I expirenced these. Religion helps and i'm many thankful to religion.

 

[Edward111]

i had video footage of a ghost on my phone you can see its leg pass my phone camera but soon after that my phone broke with that footage on but i bluetoothed it to my nan's phone about A week before it broke so she's still got a copy of the ghost. many people said i made the video up and it was silly but i did not make it up and it was real.