Railway Ghosts

[catseye]

If you ever have cause to visit Crewe station, have loo concern no longer.
The Platform 12 conveniences are possibly the best on the entire network, to which I do believe @titch will attest after I sent him there.

Malton station has had a recent revamp and the toilets reinstalled after many many years without any. As I was VERY relieved to discover last week...

 

[escargot]

Malton station has had a recent revamp and the toilets reinstalled after many many years without any. As I was VERY relieved to discover last week...

Station cludgies are essential.

 

[escargot]

Anyway...

Speaking of Platform 12, I had a spooky do there recently.

Was waiting for the lift at the north end. A Pendolino was stationary on the track and I looked with interest for its destination panel to see where it was going.

Just then I saw what looked like the reflection of a person walking past the train. As if someone was strolling along closely beside it and being picked up in the shiny paint.

As I couldn't see anyone nearby I expected whoever it was to appear from behind the lift shaft. Maybe ask me if I'm living the Dream as railway people do, but nobody was there.

Tried walking up and down a bit myself to re-create the effect but I couldn't as I was too far away. Whoever had made the reflection had been right on the Yellow Line.

Eventually had to jump in the lift and tootle off to work so didn't have any more time to investigate.

This happened very close to the spot where Techy and I saw the apparent fall from height victim a couple of years ago.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Anyway...

Speaking of Platform 12, I had a spooky do there recently.

Was waiting for the lift at the north end. A Pendolino was stationary on the track and I looked with interest for its destination panel to see where it was going.

Just then I saw what looked like the reflection of a person walking past the train. As if someone was strolling along closely beside it and being picked up in the shiny paint.

As I couldn't see anyone nearby I expected whoever it was to appear from behind the lift shaft. Maybe ask me if I'm living the Dream as railway people do, but nobody was there.

Tried walking up and down a bit myself to re-create the effect but I couldn't as I was too far away. Whoever had made the reflection had been right on the Yellow Line.

Eventually had to jump in the lift and tootle off to work so didn't have any more time to investigate.

This happened very close to the spot where Techy and I saw the apparent fall from height victim a couple of years ago.

So this was the platform?

Where were you located and which livery was the Pendolino?

 

[escargot]

So this was the platform?

View attachment 82428

Where were you located and which livery was the Pendolino?

Yup. The lift shaft is the structure behind the 12 sign. The lift entrance is on the opposite side.
The lovely toilets I recommended to @titch are set back behind the phone box.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Have we featured this case before? Even if so, it is worth another read:

Having read the other railway ghosts thread I would like to share something that happened to me 20 odd years ago, I would be interested if anyone had any more information:

On a particularly cold And frosty winters night I was working a ballast train in a block on the Mid Sussex line, I had a pair of Class 37’s which I had worked down from Three Bridges yard to the worksite, after dropping the required ballast I was instructed to pull up to the boards, and await for the block man to drop them before proceeding.

I pulling up short of the boards, and then settled down pouring a nice warm cup of tea from my flask and tucking into some hot-cross buns my wife had kindly packed me. I noticed a light flicking outside so dropped the window to see a chap wandering around, assuming he was the blockman I called over to him to jump up in the warm cab away from the cold (Class 37’s are far from comfortable but the heaters are pretty good if they are working) as he climbed up I noticed he was wearing an old BR donkey jacket and one of the original issue BR high vis vests from the 1980’s which I thought was a little strange as no one had worn those for years and was carrying an original style bardic hand lamp. As he settled into the second mans seat I offered him a cup of tea which he accepted and then we got chatting, he had a strong Scottish accent which made a few words difficult to understand. We chatted for a few minutes then I asked him about dropping the boards to get me away, at that moment he seemed to get upset and left the cab quite abruptly. Perplexed I dropped the cab window again to see where he had gone but there was no sign of him.

As it was freezing outside I wasn’t going to investigate so stayed put in the warm to wait for his return. About 25 minutes later I saw a van pull up near by an access gate and 2 figures get out dressed in the more familiar full orange and hard hats. They made their way down to me and explained they were the block-men and were here to drop the boards. I told them I had their mate up here a few minutes ago but he left in a hurry. They looked at me strangely and told me no one else was out here working tonight, I asked again giving a description and they thought I was having them on. I distinctly remember getting a chill down my spine as I realised the chap I had in my cab was not supposed to be there. They dropped the boards and I made my way out the block towards Littlehampton where I was relieved by another driver.

I made some enquires and whilst I never found anything concrete a retired colleague recalled a story of a track worker being killed by a engineers train on the Mid Sussex Line in the early 80’s. Could it have been him up in the cab with me that night? I will never know but it is certainly a night I will never forget.
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/railway-ghosts.204868/

 

[Floyd]

Have we featured this case before? Even if so, it is worth another read:

Having read the other railway ghosts thread I would like to share something that happened to me 20 odd years ago, I would be interested if anyone had any more information:

On a particularly cold And frosty winters night I was working a ballast train in a block on the Mid Sussex line, I had a pair of Class 37’s which I had worked down from Three Bridges yard to the worksite, after dropping the required ballast I was instructed to pull up to the boards, and await for the block man to drop them before proceeding.

I pulling up short of the boards, and then settled down pouring a nice warm cup of tea from my flask and tucking into some hot-cross buns my wife had kindly packed me. I noticed a light flicking outside so dropped the window to see a chap wandering around, assuming he was the blockman I called over to him to jump up in the warm cab away from the cold (Class 37’s are far from comfortable but the heaters are pretty good if they are working) as he climbed up I noticed he was wearing an old BR donkey jacket and one of the original issue BR high vis vests from the 1980’s which I thought was a little strange as no one had worn those for years and was carrying an original style bardic hand lamp. As he settled into the second mans seat I offered him a cup of tea which he accepted and then we got chatting, he had a strong Scottish accent which made a few words difficult to understand. We chatted for a few minutes then I asked him about dropping the boards to get me away, at that moment he seemed to get upset and left the cab quite abruptly. Perplexed I dropped the cab window again to see where he had gone but there was no sign of him.

As it was freezing outside I wasn’t going to investigate so stayed put in the warm to wait for his return. About 25 minutes later I saw a van pull up near by an access gate and 2 figures get out dressed in the more familiar full orange and hard hats. They made their way down to me and explained they were the block-men and were here to drop the boards. I told them I had their mate up here a few minutes ago but he left in a hurry. They looked at me strangely and told me no one else was out here working tonight, I asked again giving a description and they thought I was having them on. I distinctly remember getting a chill down my spine as I realised the chap I had in my cab was not supposed to be there. They dropped the boards and I made my way out the block towards Littlehampton where I was relieved by another driver.

I made some enquires and whilst I never found anything concrete a retired colleague recalled a story of a track worker being killed by a engineers train on the Mid Sussex Line in the early 80’s. Could it have been him up in the cab with me that night? I will never know but it is certainly a night I will never forget.
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/railway-ghosts.204868/

Maybe just a local railway fanatic/ex worker who still had his old gear?

 

[SimonBurchell]

Maybe just a local railway fanatic/ex worker who still had his old gear?

That's what I thought, more a railway wannabe, who didn't have the knowhow to lift the boards and left quickly in a fluster.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Yeah maybe, would be good to know the exact location as railways are pretty well fenced off nowadays and the two guy that arrived would have had to unlock the access gate. But regardless, put yourself in the driver's shoes and it must be have been pretty spooky experience.