Are our railways haunted? (ghost stories)

[Jordy]

This thread has moved to the Stories forum, Paranormal Discussion thread now open here so please keep this one to stories only.

 

[sprinterguy]

OK, so, hopefully someone will be able to elaborate on this, and tell whether there's any truth to it. I was told this story a few years ago (between 1999 and 2001) by a resident in a care home I worked at who was en ex-railway man.

He told me that no trains are permitted to ever pass through the Standedge Tunnels near Huddersfield travelling eastwards between 10:05 and 10:15 at night, ever. The reason was that strange things had happened to trains in the tunnels between these times. Namely that all electric lights, and previously even gas / paraffin lamps, always extinguished shortly after entering the tunnel, and the train would mysteriously feel like it's trying to slow or stop. The enginemen always had to fight the controls in the dark to keep the train moving, as they always felt an instinct that if the train stopped then something terrible would happen. This only ever happened when trains were travelling eastwards in the tunnel between five-past-ten and quarter-past-ten at night. After numerous incidents over the years, British Rail management declared a moratorium on such movements between those times in the mid to late 1980s, and as no train has ever passed through between those times since, no further incidents have ever been reported. The old man told me that there had been records throughout the time of the nationalised railways of these incident occurring, and some records from before nationalisation, but it wasn't until (for him) relatively recently that the reports were taken seriously, and BR issued the moratorium on such movements.

I've checked several times and never found anything written about this on-line. I'd actually forgotten it until I recently took a trip to York from Manchester and passed through the tunnel and the memory came back to me of my old resident.

I really like that story, thanks for posting it! It's great to see a story that is relateable to current operating practices:

I've had a peruse of the Transpennine and Northern rail timetables that operate through Standedge, and it doesn't seem impossible, though of course given that most timetables are regular interval then it's completely plausible that there wouldn't be any trains through the tunnel in that ten minute window.

There's a northbound North TPE service that looks like it would be in the tunnel on the cusp of five past ten, I would imagine, somewhat unfortunately, that if it's running late it's unlikely that the train would be held at Stalybridge for 5-10 minutes before heading through the tunnel. Could be interesting to find out though...

Though I'd be quite happy to have a couple of drinks in Manchester (just to heighten the senses ) then board the 21:42 from Manchester Piccadilly on Halloween for the run through Standedge Tunnel for a bit of fun!

 

[jimrbrobinson]

Thanks SprinterGuy. I'd like to have a run through it too, just for the fun! Actually I didn't realise there was so much to Standedge, and I'm gonna have to take a trip there sometime off-rail as it looks like a magnificent feat of engineering.

Before posting the details of that story as related to me, I had tried to research into it and the only references I could find were to the canal (several deaths) and one train fire (a DMU IIRC), but nothing else. Maybe it's an adaptation of a story about the canal tunnels as apparently there's links between them.

I did read something on Network Rail about ventillation concerns, but they seemed to have been allayed.

On a different note, one wierd experience which happened to me recently I will relate here (and maybe await a visit from the men in white coats! ). One of my favourite places to go an seek some peace and tranquility, daft as it may sound, is near to the level crossing at Astley on the Manchester to Liverpool line. (Subterranea Britannica has info on the former station there.) A few weeks ago while I was there, actually watching some small sort of hawk-type bird over the adjacent field I heard what sounded like a distant train appraching, and heard the rails 'whine' accordingly. However, when I looked up to the signal box, no lights were lit on the display board, and the signalman hadn't moved to lock the gates. I stood for several minutes while this continued before the rail whine and sound faded away. After several more minutes an actual Liverpool-bound train passed (preceeded and followed by almost identical sounds from the rails). I cannot explain what made the rails make that sound when no train was present. (I should probably state that normally the lights on the approach in the signal box normally come on before the appraching train is seen or heard. I can't explain it, and it was certainly wierd. I've been there many time, and never had that happen before. hock:

 

[AndyJB]

OK, so, hopefully someone will be able to elaborate on this, and tell whether there's any truth to it. I was told this story a few years ago (between 1999 and 2001) by a resident in a care home I worked at who was en ex-railway man.

He told me that no trains are permitted to ever pass through the Standedge Tunnels near Huddersfield travelling eastwards between 10:05 and 10:15 at night, ever. The reason was that strange things had happened to trains in the tunnels between these times. Namely that all electric lights, and previously even gas / paraffin lamps, always extinguished shortly after entering the tunnel, and the train would mysteriously feel like it's trying to slow or stop. The enginemen always had to fight the controls in the dark to keep the train moving, as they always felt an instinct that if the train stopped then something terrible would happen. This only ever happened when trains were travelling eastwards in the tunnel between five-past-ten and quarter-past-ten at night. After numerous incidents over the years, British Rail management declared a moratorium on such movements between those times in the mid to late 1980s, and as no train has ever passed through between those times since, no further incidents have ever been reported. The old man told me that there had been records throughout the time of the nationalised railways of these incident occurring, and some records from before nationalisation, but it wasn't until (for him) relatively recently that the reports were taken seriously, and BR issued the moratorium on such movements.

I've checked several times and never found anything written about this on-line. I'd actually forgotten it until I recently took a trip to York from Manchester and passed through the tunnel and the memory came back to me of my old resident.

There are pics from inside the tunnel on 28dayslater:

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=51358
Though I do think that the photographer was stupid to get so close to the running lines in the active tunnel.

Still, there are a few reports regarding said tunnels on that forum - some of them from evening/night hours, though haven't unfortunately seen any menion of the described happening.

 

[Kernowfem]

There are pics from inside the tunnel on 28dayslater:

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=51358
Though I do think that the photographer was stupid to get so close to the running lines in the active tunnel.

Still, there are a few reports regarding said tunnels on that forum - some of them from evening/night hours, though haven't unfortunately seen any menion of the described happening.

Have to agree, i would have stayed clear of the active tunnel. However i enjoyed the link. Thanks AndyJB. Some interesting pictures too. Im really intrigued by the tunnel now...going to see what i can find out

 

[deltic1989]

Its taken me well over an hour to read this thread end to end and there are some facinating stories here, I for one am a beleiver in the supernatural but im not blind to logical explainations. My submission is something is saw a few weeks ago whilst night fishing by the disused West Holmes signal box next to Braford Pool almost in the Centre of Lincoln. After packing up our gear at about half 2 in the morning my mates and I were walking home past the signal box and i happened to look up at the windows of the s/b and saw there was a light on and what appered to be a shadowy figure. Now those familiar with the box in question will know that when Lincoln was re-signalled the steps leading up to it have been removed. Seems spooky to me as from my veiwpoint there was no visible way that anyone could have entered, and because of the new signalling system no real reason for the box to be manned.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Ummmm, Deltic1989, you're not by any chance that ghost of No.20 Nimbus are you...?

Admittedly this next bit isn't ghost related nor railway related but is a gruesome tale told by a chap who worked with me about 16 years ago...

His girlfriend had an unnerving ability to see a halo of light around the bodies of other folk. She'd told him that it tended to be brighter around younger and healthier people.

He came into work a little subdued one Monday morning. He and his girlfriend had been walking along the pavement the previous day. As they passed a young mother, pushing her infant in a pushchair, his girlfriend suddenly started crying and wailing for no apparent reason. He tried to calm her but she sobbed that neither the mother nor baby had halo of light around them.

He was doing his best to convince his girlfriend that she'd simply not looked at them properly, when a squeal of types made them both turn round. A car had lost control, mounted the pavement behind them, struck the young mother and infant, who both sadly perished instantly.

After he told me, I felt uneasy for the rest of that day and the memory has remained with me since.

 

[deltic1989]

Ummmm, Deltic1989, you're not by any chance that ghost of No.20 Nimbus are you...?

Admittedly this next bit isn't ghost related nor railway related but is a gruesome tale told by a chap who worked with me about 16 years ago...

His girlfriend had an unnerving ability to see a halo of light around the bodies of other folk. She'd told him that it tended to be brighter around younger and healthier people.

He came into work a little subdued one Monday morning. He and his girlfriend had been walking along the pavement the previous day. As they passed a young mother, pushing her infant in a pushchair, his girlfriend suddenly started crying and wailing for no apparent reason. He tried to calm her but she sobbed that neither the mother nor baby had halo of light around them.

He was doing his best to convince his girlfriend that she'd simply not looked at them properly, when a squeal of types made them both turn round. A car had lost control, mounted the pavement behind them, struck the young mother and infant, who both sadly perished instantly.

After he told me, I felt uneasy for the rest of that day and the memory has remained with me since.

No my friend im very much alive... That is one spooky tale you tell though i remember seeing somthing like this on one of those believe it or not TV shows ,kind of creeps me out that someone could know im going to die before I do. The tale regarding Abe Lincolns funeral train reminded me of a story i heard a while ago regarding Churchills funeral train, unsure on locations and times etc though. And a while i back i did read about some odd goings on in Soham many people have heard an explosion round there but no fire or damage is ever found by the emergency services, could this be the Soham disaster of 1944 replaying its self so the locals dont forget Driver Gimberts sacrifice?

 

[sprinterguy]

The tale regarding Abe Lincolns funeral train reminded me of a story i heard a while ago regarding Churchills funeral train, unsure on locations and times etc though.

Regarding Winston Churchill's funeral train; seeing the ghost of a locomotive that is still extant, and with at least one of the footplate crew who performed that working still alive, surely a ghostly apparition of such a thing would be a bit of a paradox!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

But that could then be evidence for the argument that a ghost is in fact some sort of electro-magnetic "recording" on the environment which is being replayed in the correct circumstances, couldn't it?

 

[Kernowfem]

DELTIC1989, many thanks for sharing your story. I really enjoyed it. Speaking of night fishing and railways. Is anyone familar with the A1 pits at south muskham nr Newark??

Last year someone posted on a ghost forum of fishing there one night on the lake next to the muskham level crossing. According to to the chap who posted he swore he'd seen a chap swinging a lamp on the line. When he went to investigate no one was there.

He seemed pretty shook up about the incident, but when people asked him some questions we got no reply.

Shame really as i grew up round that area, but never heard of any spooky goings on.....

 

[yorksrob]

OK, so, hopefully someone will be able to elaborate on this, and tell whether there's any truth to it. I was told this story a few years ago (between 1999 and 2001) by a resident in a care home I worked at who was en ex-railway man.

He told me that no trains are permitted to ever pass through the Standedge Tunnels near Huddersfield travelling eastwards between 10:05 and 10:15 at night, ever. The reason was that strange things had happened to trains in the tunnels between these times. Namely that all electric lights, and previously even gas / paraffin lamps, always extinguished shortly after entering the tunnel, and the train would mysteriously feel like it's trying to slow or stop. The enginemen always had to fight the controls in the dark to keep the train moving, as they always felt an instinct that if the train stopped then something terrible would happen. This only ever happened when trains were travelling eastwards in the tunnel between five-past-ten and quarter-past-ten at night. After numerous incidents over the years, British Rail management declared a moratorium on such movements between those times in the mid to late 1980s, and as no train has ever passed through between those times since, no further incidents have ever been reported. The old man told me that there had been records throughout the time of the nationalised railways of these incident occurring, and some records from before nationalisation, but it wasn't until (for him) relatively recently that the reports were taken seriously, and BR issued the moratorium on such movements.

I've checked several times and never found anything written about this on-line. I'd actually forgotten it until I recently took a trip to York from Manchester and passed through the tunnel and the memory came back to me of my old resident.

That's a good one. Is there anybody in the diagraming dept who can confirm? Also, if this is the case, what happens if a train is late and passes through during the spooky time?

 

[56312]

Speaking of night fishing and railways. Is anyone familar with the A1 pits at south muskham nr Newark??

Last year someone posted on a ghost forum of fishing there one night on the lake next to the muskham level crossing. According to to the chap who posted he swore he'd seen a chap swinging a lamp on the line. When he went to investigate no one was there.

Yes, very familiar with it! hock: I once went there with my father who is a keen fisherman. However, I'll think twice before going night fishing there!

Do you happen to have a link to this story at all please?

 

[Kernowfem]

Yes, very familiar with it! hock: I once went there with my father who is a keen fisherman. However, I'll think twice before going night fishing there!

Do you happen to have a link to this story at all please?

Hi 56312, the forum was Ghosts Uk, which im a moderator on. Im not great on doing links, so if you would like to go and search the forum im sure it will be on there somewhere


My parents live in South Muskham, so its home territory for me, i wouldnt worry too much about night fishing, as this is the first story ive ever really heard about it, and if it happened regularly i think it would be talked about locally more

 

[trentside]

Regarding South Muskham, the only thing I've ever heard was a non-railway story about a black dog which supposedly appeared on Crow Lane between the Muskhams and Bathley - but reports on this are quite old. I've never heard anything about the railway there though, or the pits.

I've heard about ghosts on the Nottingham-Lincoln line (I think at Fiskerton and/or Rolleston) to the west of Newark, but never anything in the Newark area itself!

 

[Kernowfem]

Regarding South Muskham, the only thing I've ever heard was a non-railway story about a black dog which supposedly appeared on Crow Lane between the Muskhams and Bathley - but reports on this are quite old. I've never heard anything about the railway there though, or the pits.

I've heard about ghosts on the Nottingham-Lincoln line (I think at Fiskerton and/or Rolleston) to the west of Newark, but never anything in the Newark area itself!

Hi Trentside. This was the first and only time ive ever heard about the south muskham crossing "ghost"

You are right about Rolleston and Fiskerton, i believe the stories are early on in this thread. Also my uncle who lives just outside Southwell says there are stories relating to the old Mansfield-Southwell branch. He claims you can hear an old steam engine chugging along the line...popular now as a cycle path quite a few people stop by his pub for a drink while passing, quite a few have asked about the sounds...

 

[56312]

Hi 56312, the forum was Ghosts Uk, which im a moderator on. Im not great on doing links, so if you would like to go and search the forum im sure it will be on there somewhere


My parents live in South Muskham, so its home territory for me, i wouldnt worry too much about night fishing, as this is the first story ive ever really heard about it, and if it happened regularly i think it would be talked about locally more

Thanks for the info, that last bit is reassuring at least

 

[AndyJB]

This one in particular (from the paranormal database) spooks me:

Steam Locomotive

Location: Elsham (Lincolnshire) - Ancholme Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Foggy weather
Further Comments: Said to reappear in the same spot since an accident in the 1920s which killed four people, this large steam locomotive gently glows in its foggy environment.

 

[Kernowfem]

This one in particular (from the paranormal database) spooks me:

Steam Locomotive

Location: Elsham (Lincolnshire) - Ancholme Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Foggy weather
Further Comments: Said to reappear in the same spot since an accident in the 1920s which killed four people, this large steam locomotive gently glows in its foggy environment.

Hi Andy...this story is written aboutin Herberts railway ghosts and phantoms book. According to the author two elderly gents set out to debunk the story, only to come face to fce with the apparition.

It scared them sensless by all accounts

 

[Tomnick]

This one in particular (from the paranormal database) spooks me:

Steam Locomotive

Location: Elsham (Lincolnshire) - Ancholme Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Foggy weather
Further Comments: Said to reappear in the same spot since an accident in the 1920s which killed four people, this large steam locomotive gently glows in its foggy environment.

Interesting, I've been there a few times (dog-walking - my parents live just down the road) - I shall have to pop down if there's ever a foggy morning when I'm back home .

 

[AndyJB]

Hi Andy...this story is written aboutin Herberts railway ghosts and phantoms book. According to the author two elderly gents set out to debunk the story, only to come face to fce with the apparition.

It scared them sensless by all accounts

Thanks for the info Kernowfem - might have to check if ebay has copies of that book!

 

[Kernowfem]

Thanks for the info Kernowfem - might have to check if ebay has copies of that book!

No probs Andy, i know Amazon has loads of used copies from as little as £1.00. Thats where i got mine from. It's got some really interesting stories in it too....loads in the lincs area!!

 

[56312]

Found the following link which might be of interest, although two of the stories aren't true (the Nimbus story and the Talyllyn Ghost Train story)

http://www.strangedayz.co.uk/2007/10/ghost-trains-of-great-britain.html

The Talyllyn story is a great example of how events can be twisted to create something truly spooky, when in fact the true nature of the story is not paranormal in the slightest.

The Nuneaton "Bomb Hills" haunting sounds terrible though. I presume there was a bad accident here back in steam days? (if the story is to be believed, that is)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Page 64 of Rail 658 will be of interest to followers of this thread; it briefly mentions three locations on the Glasgow Subway which are reputedly haunted and hints at further ghosts at Glasgow stations...

 

[pendolino]

I've just spent an hour or so reading this very entertaining thread (even the belligerence from sceptics and believers alike), but I must admit I haven't read anything to convince me definitively of the existence of ghosts, although I do keep an open mind. Nonetheless the stories and experiences, true or otherwise, are a great read.

A lot of the tales seem to lack any sort of prima facie evidence of anything paranormal (and, to steal another term from m'learned friends, an abuse of res ipsa loquitur), and would not stand up to any sort of legal or scientific test - concluding that 'I can't think of a rational explanation, therefore it must be paranormal' is not particularly logical. Interesting that Ben Goldacre has been mentioned, I bet he'd have field day with some of the stories told here.

And let's not forget that anyone can publish anything they wish, either printed or on the internet. Old Timer feels that googling for the stories he relates gives them some sort of credibility, in reality any website (or printed material for that matter) is no more acceptable evidence than wikipedia.

As for the stories of strange bell codes ringing in signalboxes etc., well, until NR include a code for 'paranormal activity' on the RT3185, I prefer to take the view that Stuff Goes Wrong.

Anyway, a contribution: apparently Mark Beech tunnel on the Uckfield branch is haunted by Anne Boleyn, whose childhood home was Hever Castle not far away. Quite why she would be haunting something that was built 350 years after her death is left unexplained, but there you go.

 

[12CSVT]

Found the following link which might be of interest, although two of the stories aren't true (the Nimbus story and the Talyllyn Ghost Train story)

http://www.strangedayz.co.uk/2007/10/ghost-trains-of-great-britain.html

The Talyllyn story is a great example of how events can be twisted to create something truly spooky, when in fact the true nature of the story is not paranormal in the slightest.

The Nuneaton "Bomb Hills" haunting sounds terrible though. I presume there was a bad accident here back in steam days? (if the story is to be believed, that is)

I wonder if the story about Dalton in Furness has any connection with the fact that Dalton Tunnel is directly under the cemetary.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I must admit I haven't read anything to convince me definitively of the existence of ghosts, although I do keep an open mind.

A healthy perspective, Pendolino, and one which I share. There is one incident - not very railway-related - which I have yet to account for. Here's my story...


In January 2009, I visited Kent for a few days; principally to photograph 34067 Tangmere on the Folkestone Harbour branch. My last day's jaunt included a visit to Dover Castle.

The medieval tunnels are at the northern edge and were mined following a lengthy French siege. The English soldiers could move undetected, both to attack and to evade the French. The tunnels were further extended during the Napoleonic Wars.

The tunnels, with their iron-studded doors and gothic arches, are dark and atmospheric; I wandered through them as the sun was going down, looking for some nice moody compositions. I found a good spot, looking down the gun-tunnel - there was no light-source around me but the afternoon sun's rays were cutting into the tunnel about 20-30 feet ahead of me. I took a sequence of six photos.

As I stepped forward, the air temperature and air pressure seemed to drop markedly. I felt uneasy - I figured that was because I was the only person there, in the darkness and dampness. I walked to the end of the passage and, feeling decidedly uncomfortable now, retraced my steps and returned to the surface.

It was only once I'd loaded the images onto my laptop, that I noticed how the last image has a very strange cloud, right in front of me. All six photos were taken in exactly the same position and with exactly the same light conditions. I've attached the fifth and the sixth shots in the sequence - they were taken about 10-15 seconds apart.


Believe me or belittle me, I have yet to find a logical, scientific explanation for what I experienced at that spot. hock:

 

[56312]

Sorry, it's nothing supernatural. Interesting images, thanks for posting them, but I know what this is. Basically you've taken a picture while you've been breathing and the camera's sensor has picked up the "misty" type of stuff that comes out of your mouth when you breathe in cold conditions. Basically you can see your breath, I can tell this because of the closeness to the lens itself.

Why did the temperature / atmosphere suddenly become so cold? It's a tunnel inside an old castle. It was probably a draught or you could have just walked into a particularly chilly part of the tunnel. Lots of people report that some tunnels or chambers in old buildings are unusually windy or cold in odd places but that's perfectly normal, for all sorts of reasons.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Well thanks for such a simple explanation - I'd tried several Google-searches at the time and nothing concrete had turned up.

The temperature / pressure drop was odd - but, as you say, despite there being no air-shaft, it may simply have been influenced by another source.

Just goes to prove that this forum has a wealth of information on every topic!

 

[12CSVT]

Is Loch Nan-Uamh Viaduct (on the Mallaig line) haunted ?

The remains of a horse and cart are believed to be entombed in the middle pillar following an accident during the construction of the viaduct.