Haunted Trains and Locomotives

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
In 1890, a long time employee of the Louisville, St. Louis and Texas Railroad Company in Henderson, Kentucky, resigned from his position which he held for many years because of fear of encountering the ghosts haunting the yards at night. 

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What haunted the rail yard in Henderson, Kentucky?

The man named Rouse worked as a watchman about the yards at night. He complained of sights and sounds he could not explain. One time a bell on a locomotive rang by itself.

This is how he described it as reported by the Memphis Avalanche: 

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I was doing some work near where engine No. 103 was standing when I heard the bell tap twice. I looked around and seeing nothing turned to resume my work. I had scarcely commenced when I was again startled by three more loud taps of the bell on the engine, and looked around and I saw something that fairly took the kinks out of my hair. In the cab of the engine I saw a white form which appeared to be peering out of the lookout window. The eyes looking almost like balls of fire. I could not move to save my life, and seemed as if the terrible-looking object was looking for me. It remained a few seconds and then disappeared. No, you can't get me to tackle no such sights again.  

The haunting included the locomotive and the rail yard

A tire-man who also worked in the yard, said that he heard the bell ring, but didn't see the apparition. He told the story of an engineer on the locomotive a few nights before describe that on his trip from Louisville, a white object in human form crossed over the engineer near Long's Crossing, which caused him to stop the engine.

​Instead of a locomotive, Capt. Charles Merriwether told the St. Louis Globe Democrat in 1892, of a hunted canal boat he once owned:

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I once owned a canal boat that carried a whole cargo of spooks. It was before the railroads had two boats, one I looked after myself, while I employed a captain and crew for the other. One night the captain, who had been assiduously putting down the rum demon, shipped a cargo of monkeys. He attacked his wife with a carving knife and killed her. A boat hand who went to her rescue, shared the same fate. He then cut his own throat and jumped overboard. I was never after that able to get a crew to remain with the boat. Every man employed asserted that the double murder and suicide was enacted every night. I did not investigate the matter, as I never cared to meddle with the supernatural. After three or four crews had deserted the boat I sold it to a German who had three boys. They ran it for a number of years, and made no complaint of midnight visitors.

A train on Bostian's Bridge, Third Creek below c.1880s

In the early morning hours of August 27, 1891, Richmond & Danville engine train No. 9 thundered by the Statesville depot on its way to Asheville. Less than 10 minutes later it crossed the Bostian Bridge that hung over Third Creek. Unseen was a split in the tracks, and the locomotive with 5 cars went airborne as it catapulted 70 feet downward. Many were hurt, others dead, and the few that could run went to Statesville to bring back help.

The final count was 22 dead, and over 30 injured. Some actually drowned since the creek waters were high. In the meantime the survivors were treated at the home of Statesville residents, since there was no hospital in the town. 

The Farmers’ Tobacco Warehouse was used as a morgue to hold the dead. Convicts were brought to help in the clean up of the disaster.

An investigation found that rail spikes had been removed. Was it conspiracy, vandalism or neglect? An inquiry found unknown persons had removed the spikes, which had been facilitated by the neglected condition of the tracks.

Richmond & Danville Railroad (R & D) were experiencing financial problems, and claims against the company if they were found at fault was greatly feared. This fueled the impetus to find alleged saboteurs on which to lay the blame.

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Train wreck below Bostian's Bridge c.1891

Railroad detectives scoured the area for months, and some people were detained, questioned and then set free. 

In August, 1897 John A. Hand and Bird Shepherd were indicted for the murder of Hugh K. Leinster, the baggage master who was 23 years old. He died in the wreck at Bostian Bridge. Hand was serving time for burglary and Shepherd was there for manslaughter. 

Hand and Shepherd had told fellow convicts they were responsible for the accident that took the lives of about two dozen people. They told the prisoners where they hid items and money they had taken from the dead and dying passengers. About a year later about $700 was recovered.

They were to be prosecuted for the offense upon the end of their jail term. In 1899, they were found guilty, but no

Steve Hill a Statesville historian said: "There was a rash of hobo and tramp confessions across the state. Most were attempts to get locked up for a few days to get some jail food. But the two jailhouse confessions of Hand and Shepherd were the ones that stuck. The truth lies somewhere in between."

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Bostian Bridge wreck c.1891

A year after the wreck, the first sighting of a ghost was reported when a group of people said they talked to a man that looked like Hugh K. Leinster, the baggage master killed in the wreck. They said he asked them for the time before vanishing.

Fifty years would go by before another ghostly reminder of the terrible wreck was reported. On the anniversary of the derailment in 1941, Larry and Pat Hayes planned a vacation trip to North Carolina. The couple who lived in Columbia, South Carolina decided to leave home after Larry got home from work, which was about 10 pm. Larry headed out pulling along a camper while his wife and two children slept.

A little after 2 a.m. a flat tire forced them off the road, and it was then Larry realized he didn't have a jack. There was no choice but to walk to Statesville for help. Pat sat in the car while the kids kept sleeping. She didn't think it was strange when she heard the far off whistle of a train. From her vantage point she saw the locomotive light as it approached the Bostian Bridge. The clatter of train wheels across the tracks was followed by the scream of twisting metal as the train plunged into the ravine below.

Then the night was full of groans and cries for help. Pat scrambled from the car and ran to look down. A smashed train lay strewn below. Suddenly she noticed a pale man, dressed in a railroad uniform standing next to her. He asked for the time.

A car door slamming announced the arrival of her husband and another man. Pat ran to them, babbling about a horrible train wreck. The trio ran to the edge of the road, and looked below. Nothing was there.

It wasn't until the following day, when they visited Statesville they learned of the accident that dated back exactly 50 years before. This is when they heard of the sighting of Leinster, the young baggage man killed that night.

The events as described, make for a compelling ghost story, however it seems more of an urban myth, as there is no mention of a ghostly reenactment of the wreck, or the unfortunate baggage master until after 1970.

A large crowd gathered on August 27, 1991 hoping they could witness the derailment on its 100th anniversary. Nothing happened, however this has not stopped legend trippers from visiting the site every year.

On August 27, 2010, Christopher Kaiser, 29 was struck and killed by a train while on the tracks. He was part of a 12-member ghost hunting group that like others before him, hoped to see the No. 9 train plunge into Third Creek. He pushed his girlfriend off the track and saved her.

Other have been struck and killed by trains, when they climbed the railroad trestle over the Pope Lick Creek, in search of the mythical Goat Man.

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