Locomotives & rolling stock which people might consider "haunted"?

[finnztrains]

Is there any?

 

[Darandio]

Plenty of stuff to go on from previous threads, this one specifically.

Are our railways haunted? (ghost stories)

I see many of the forums users are railway workers, and i wondered if anyone had any tales to tell of mysterious happenings/hauntings while on duty, or if anyone has any railway ghost stories. I appreciate this thread may not be everyones cup of tea, but i would love to hear any...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Pit_buzzer]

47 213, I'll say no more..

 

[Spaceship323]

Is there any?

How can there be? Ghosts cannot and do not exist.

 

[D6130]

47 213, I'll say no more..

Don't you mean 47 216....subsequently renumbered as 47 299?

 

[Magdalia]

Don't you mean 47 216....subsequently renumbered as 47 299?

So haunted that it can use typos to conceal its identity?

91023 was the loco involved at both Hatfield and Heck, and was subsequently renumbered to 91132 instead of 91123.

 

[Tetragon213]

While I don't personally believe in the paranormal nor of hauntings, I do understand that for others it can be a strongly-held superstition. After all, many a skipper at sea won't sail on a Friday simply due to the longstanding superstition.

Historically, the engine which was involved in the Tay Bridge Disaster was darkly nicknamed "The Diver", and crews adamantly refused to take it over the new bridge for about 30 years.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Don't you mean 47 216....subsequently renumbered as 47 299?

That is the one!

 

[Pit_buzzer]

That is the one!

So haunted it made me type the wrong number!

 

[EveningStar]

How can there be? Ghosts cannot and do not exist.

What Spaceship323 says. However, if we are talking locos that have a jinxed reputation, there are plenty on top of the already mentioned 47216 and 91023. So starting with:

- North British Railway 224, after being recovered and repaired after the Tay Bridge Disaster it acquired the nickname 'Diver', and it is said that some crews refused to take it over the rebuilt bridge.​

​

- Midland Railway compound 1010, involved in two fatal accidents in 1918 and 1933, thereafter acquiring a jinxed reputation.​

​

- British Railways class 40 D326 was involved in the fatal Coppenhall accident in 1962 and then was the loco involved in the Great Train Robbery a few months later, plus there are stories of other incidents such as "mysteriously", according to a book by L.C. Jacks, running away at Monument Lane near Birmingham New Street.​

Imagine that once a locomotive acquires the reputation of being jinxed, any out of the normal incident is magnified and ascribed to the jinx.

 

[DarloRich]

How can there be? Ghosts cannot and do not exist.

Is the correct answer - any issues with locomotives listed above are merely coincidental

 

[ainsworth74]

How can there be? Ghosts cannot and do not exist.

Is the correct answer - any issues with locomotives listed above are merely coincidental

Is exactly what the ghosts want you to believe! Don't fall for anti-ghost propaganda! We know that the truth is out there!

 

[Cach17]

As mentioned in the thread linked in post #2, 37069 is one such allegedly haunted loco. Interestingly the section about said haunting has long since been scrubbed from the Class 37 Wikipedia page...

 

[Thames99]

There's also Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley

The Ghost Train (play) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

No locomotives identified!

 

[dcbwhaley]

There's also Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley

The Ghost Train (play) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

No locomotives identified!

The Signalman by Charles Dickens. Again no loco identified

 

[321362]

185 144 "Titanic" after the Summit Tunnel derailment. Not a loco though.

 

[John Luxton]

How can there be? Ghosts cannot and do not exist.

I must admit I am sceptical about Ghosts and supernatural events - but I keep an open mind because of an experience as a child and this leads me to think that some people are more likely to see ghosts or experience unusual phenomena than others.

As my interest in railways developed as a youngster so did my interest in industrial archaeology. Thus stopping off at old mine sites on regular holidays to the west country became something of a thing. In 1970 when I was about 10 I went off with my mother to explore a particular mine Wheal Owles near Botallack. Back then I didn't know the full history of the mine it was just another interesting ruin to look at.

After a few minutes mooching- my mother grabbed me and dragged me back to the car she seemed genuinely fearful. It was quite bizarre. She had taken me to other mines.

My mother told me she just felt something really bad about the place and had to get away. My father who had been waiting in the car some distamce away was somewhat bemused as my mother was in quite a state.

Some years later in my teens as I read more and more books on Cornish mining did I discover that the mine had suffered an inundation which drowned 20 miners in 1893 and their bodies had never been recovered.

What had spooke my mother that day I just don't know.

I spoke to her about this incident a few times she could never forgot it but neither could she account for why she acted in the way she did. She certainly didn't know about the disaster.

I have gone back to that site a few times since and never had any issues. Interestingly in more recent times a memorial plaque has been installed to commemorate the miners who still lie below.

So basically I keep an open mind on the topic.

For anyone wanting a more scientific approach could I recommend listening to the BBC Radio 4 Podcast series "Uncanny" which is available on BBC Sounds? That takes a somewhat scientific rather than sensational approach to the issue. I found it very interesting.

Unfortunately I only recall one railway ghost being covered - a mysterious lost child on the London Underground.

 

[Skiddaw]

I rather like 'Uncanny'.

Isn't Carlisle railway station supposed to be one of the most haunted stations in England? I've certainly read a few articles about it.

 

[Pep and co]

Not sure about haunted locos but 47555 and 47444 haunted me back in the day

 

[31160]

I rather like 'Uncanny'.

Isn't Carlisle railway station supposed to be one of the most haunted stations in England? I've certainly read a few articles about it.

Uncanny is absolutely superb, Bloody Hell Ken!!

 

[Turtle]

Uncanny is absolutely superb, Bloody Hell Ken!!

And don't forget "Ghosts on the Underground", a little dated now, but available on YouTube.

 

[Thornaby 37]

Not sure about haunted locos but 47555 and 47444 haunted me back in the day

Probably unrelated but there has been a long standing joke on the WNXX forum that there was more than one 47555, probably because there was a perception among enthusiasts (and in particular haulage bashers) that it seemed to turn up everywhere on passenger trains

 

[finnztrains]

I know that 350232 is haunted due to the fire, 450101 is haunted by a little girl and 37069 that was all I know of.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jun 2025 ==

Also any type of train by the way.

 

[D1511]

I know the guys at Millerhill didn't like it when 40126 turned up from Kingmoor, but that wasn't anything to do with haunting....more a reluctance to sit in the cab where a fellow driver had his head smashed in with a points lever

 

[99009]

I know that 350232 is haunted due to the fire, 450101 is haunted by a little girl and 37069 that was all I know of.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jun 2025 ==

Also any type of train by the way.

Brilliant topic idea. I know about 37069 and 450101, but what's the story with 350232 being haunted if you don't mind me asking?

I can only add one more and it's already been mentioned in that old 26 page thread linked above; specifically post 651 on page 22 by user 43074. He talks about a 222 that is haunted between the 3rd and 4th coach with staff at Etches Park depot seeing a figure walk in this area. I can confirm years ago I heard the same details he has in his post. I also remember being told that, as well as being a jinxed train, the 3rd and 4th coach between first and standard class are haunted and therefore know which 222 he's talking about. What I find spooky is that at the time of 43074's posting back in 2015, he mentions that the unit had previously been involved in a derailment. Less than a year later after his post in that thread, the same unit was involved in a collision the RAIB investigated!

The ID of the unit? 222005. However, I was told this was when it was still a 7 car unit. It has since been reformed into a 5 car unit. I don't know if the haunted carriages were the ones that got taken out and put into the 222/1's and therefore don't know if anything has been reported since the reformations. Jinxed? Haunted? Coincidence? You can decide based off what you believe, but what's a fact is a) I heard the exact same thing as user 43074 did back on his post in 2015 and b) 222005 has been involved in a couple of the more well-known incidents among the fleet.

 

[D6975]

37675 - reallocated away to Scotland after Blazey men refused to drive it following the fatal accident that killed one of their number.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Brilliant topic idea. I know about 37069 and 450101, but what's the story with 350232 being haunted if you don't mind me asking?

I believe 350232 was the unit on which a woman committed suicide by setting herself on fire in the toilet.

A woman has died after a fire broke out on a rush hour train travelling from Northampton to London.

The blaze is believed to have started in a toilet on the London Midland railways train at about 1705 BST on Monday.

The train stopped at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, and all passengers were taken off. No-one else was hurt.

It is thought the 43-year-old woman started the fire and intended to kill herself.

Another passenger alerted the conductor to the fire on the service, which had left Northampton at 1625 BST.

A spokeswoman for British Transport Police said: "The deceased woman has injuries consistent with burns.

"No other person is believed to have been involved in the incident and it is not being treated as an accident."

Overhead power lines on the busy West Coast main line were switched off as a precaution as police, firefighters and the ambulance service attended the scene.

Anne Farthing, 49, saw the burning train from her flat which overlooks the track in Leighton Buzzard.

She said: "I looked out of the window and saw thick smoke that was like a fog."

Sheila Smith, 68, said: "The smoke was so thick it got onto your chest. The fire, police and ambulance service were here very quickly."

No trains were able to enter or leave Euston station for a period, but by 1900 BST services were beginning to run again with delays.

London Midland initially put on bus services to replace trains.

West Coast operator Virgin Trains also had its rush-hour services badly disrupted.

The train was still in position just north of Leighton Buzzard station hours after the tragedy. British Transport Police said it would be moved to sidings for a full forensic examination of the scene.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13039655

 

[frvic93]

I'm sure Godley and Creme sang about one once.

 

[Ib5]

Brilliant topic idea. I know about 37069 and 450101, but what's the story with 350232 being haunted if you don't mind me asking?

I can only add one more and it's already been mentioned in that old 26 page thread linked above; specifically post 651 on page 22 by user 43074. He talks about a 222 that is haunted between the 3rd and 4th coach with staff at Etches Park depot seeing a figure walk in this area. I can confirm years ago I heard the same details he has in his post. I also remember being told that, as well as being a jinxed train, the 3rd and 4th coach between first and standard class are haunted and therefore know which 222 he's talking about. What I find spooky is that at the time of 43074's posting back in 2015, he mentions that the unit had previously been involved in a derailment. Less than a year later after his post in that thread, the same unit was involved in a collision the RAIB investigated!

The ID of the unit? 222005. However, I was told this was when it was still a 7 car unit. It has since been reformed into a 5 car unit. I don't know if the haunted carriages were the ones that got taken out and put into the 222/1's and therefore don't know if anything has been reported since the reformations. Jinxed? Haunted? Coincidence? You can decide based off what you believe, but what's a fact is a) I heard the exact same thing as user 43074 did back on his post in 2015 and b) 222005 has been involved in a couple of the more well-known incidents among the fleet.

350232 a lady set herself on fire in the WC approaching Linslade Tunnel (Leighton Buzzard) she sadly died, a good friend of mine was the guard on the train he was left deeply deeply mentally scared by the incident as he was naturally fire on scene opening the door on the horror but couldn’t do anything to help.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

There was a 156 that was reputedly haunted, but I can't recall the unit number.
Staff reported seeing someone walking up and down inside it when it was stabled out of service, but on investigation there was nobody on board. IIRC it happened several times with the same unit.