Close Encounters of the Haunted Kind
Volume 257 Jot 'Em Down Daily News June 23, 2012
Close Encounters of the Haunted Kind
Copyright 06-23-2012 by RFL
Today’s News or is it Yesterday’s news today. Anyway the "Worlds Greatest Modeler's" home town newspaper, The Jot 'Em Down Daily News, Brings you the next in a series of original Alabama train stories
My Wife and I often make the trip from Birmingham to Irvington Alabama to visit our children and grandkids. We had lived in the area for about 30 years and over time became familiar with most of the local Train legends.
The one we became personally involved with concerned rumors of a haunted double track railroad crossing. It was located on Padgett Switch road, just off of highway ninety, outside of Theodore, Alabama.
You could not see a train approaching because of a sharp curve about 100 feet east of the crossing. If you saw the movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. In it was a scene where a truck is stuck on the tracks and the electrical lineman has a close encounter with some kind of UFO. Well that’s the railroad crossing I’m referring to. The story of the haunted railroad crossing may have been the reason Spielberg chose that particular crossing. At night even with lighted cross bucks it’s still a dangerous set of tracks to cross.
On January 12, 1951 at 7:30 PM a school bus with 10 children on board, 6 girls, 4 boys, and Ms. Mary, the bus driver. They were on the way home from a school play. The bus stalled on the double track railroad crossing. This was before lighted cross bucks were put up in 1977. Prior to that there was just a metal sign saying Railroad Crossing and it was considered a very dangerous crossing.
A late night nonscheduled heavy coal train was rounding the curve. The engineer saw the bus and the fear and terrified looks on faces of the bus driver and the children. The engineer could do nothing. It was just too short a distance from the curve to the crossing to stop in time.
The train was going too fast to get the children off the bus. The bus driver and all 10 children were killed, the train did not even derail and took over 4.5 miles to come to a complete stop.
On our last trip we pulled up by the gas station near the crossing and parked. I watched another vehicle start across the tracks. It stalled right on the westbound track. There was a family in the car. My wife and I were both a little nervous. After about two minutes we heard a series of warning blasts from a diesel trains horns. We watched to see if the car would get off the tracks. It did not move.
Just as I got out too see if I could help, the car started rolling. The father and Mother looked freaked out. The two girls were looking all around to see what was making their car move. My wife and I saw nothing pushing the car. After what seemed like an eternity, (but was actually less than a minute, tops) the car stopped rolling and it had been completely moved off the railroad tracks. The train roared on by, its horn wailing into the night as it thundered down the track.
After the train has passed, we both got out of our car and walked over to the stalled car. We offered to push their car on to the shoulder of the road. When we got around to the back of the car we saw a lot of dust on the car’s trunk, that’s not scary. But what was scary, were the little sets of children’s hand prints all over the back of the car. Now, that was very spooky.
Afterwards my wife and I jumped back in our car. And I drove us back to our Sons house as fast as I could.
This is all she wrote for this edition of the "Jot 'Em Down Daily News." The next edition will be out soon with our next train story. Anyway the "WGM" hopes you enjoy this series of train stories.
See ya
WGM
AKA: Switchman
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Comments
I saw this story
I saw this story on 'Fact Or Faked' - it was faked.
The crossing appears to be on a level grade but is actually a downgrade. They had a car, (or was it a bus) motor off, in neutral and it rolled itself off the tracks. The handprints were duplicated easily. They put handprints on the car's trunk lid, and the dust in the area kicked up by wind or a passing train (if you want) sticks to the handprints because of the oils on your skin.
Neat story, no such thing as ghosts!
OMG!! No Ghosts. Next you'll
OMG!! No Ghosts
. Next you'll be telling me there's no Santa Clause
See ya
Switchman
"Men go and come,
but earth abides." Ecclesiastes 1:4
Boo!
Um, unlike Santa, there is no way to discount their existence. Now I personally don't believe in them, but that's not the same as saying they don't exist.
That and I had enough intelligent friends, cohorts and co-workers who over the years have had some rather interesting experiences to share whenever this topic ever came up. I know they're not off their rockers ... so who knows?
Wwwhhhhhhhh!
(insert eerie wind noise here!)
Speaking of ghosts
Oh, I'm not so sure. If, after many thousands of years of recorded history, there is absolutely no credible evidence for something, I would argue that it's fairly safe to suggest that it might not exist. Just because many people (some intelligent and credible, some less so) have experienced unexplained phenomena does not mean that one particular pet theory must be the correct explanation. It doesn't mean that the theory must be wrong, but it does not offer any proof of the theory, either. Proof comes when you can make a prediction based on a theory, go out and test the prediction, and find the results you expected. Do that often enough with tests which would exclude competing hypotheses, and you're looking at credible evidence.
I believe that I exist, I believe that model railroads exist, and I believe that I am here to talk about model railroads. Ghosts don't enter into that particular equation.
Ken Rickman
Danville & Western HO modeler and web historian
http://southern-railway.railfan.net/dw/
...
Ken, if you re-read my initial post you'll note I don't believe in the supernatural either. There was a logical explanation given to how that car moved.
But lack of evidence doesn't mean something does not exist. I'm just reminding all of that bit of truth, and trying to keep these ghost stories spooky at the same time.
Even Charles Dickens got into this act.
But then apparently he was paid by the word.
This is part 1 of "The Haunted Signal-man". It's a good short story. You can see the links to parts 2,3 and 4 on the youtube site.
Andy
Thanks to all for
Thanks to all for your comments.
I enjoyed them. 
Terrific I shall check You Tube for the The Haunted Signal-man.
And also check the library for the book of his short stories.
See ya
Switchman AKA:Ron
"Men go and come,
but earth abides." Ecclesiastes 1:4
Enjoy your stories
Ron
I enjoy your stories. I also don't believe in ghosts, but I don't watch spook movies late at night by myself either. I do wholeheartedly believe in divine intervention and miracles.
I was born in Mobile (and grew up in Enterprise, AL) so I am probably one of the few here who didn't have to look up where Theodore is. I take it you live in B'ham.
Looking forward to more train stories.
Jim Dixon
You may think twice if.......
I know alot of people dont belive in ghosts. Well, i can say I am not one of them., Well, not anymore. In 1987 i was a member of the fire dept in waterford ct. I was a bunkman at engine co 1. I was told that our fire house was haunted but i thought it was just an elaborate prank to scare the sh.. out of new guys. Well this one particular night i was the only man bunked in for the night when i felt someone shake me awake and tell me " There is a motor vehical accident with injuries at the corner of Great neck and rt 156." I got up grabbed my gear went down to the truck and then realized we never recived an alarm. I called dispatch and the girl who answerd the phone told me she was just about to tone us out. Call me crazy but i think the ghost woke me up to go help those people. Well happy rail roading everyone.
FREE LANCE MODELING THE UNION PACIFIC FROM COLORADO TO COUNCIL BLUFFS IOWA
CLIFF MCKENNEY
ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?
Fact Check
UP man,
The firehouse you were stationed at is less than 1000 feet from the intersection where the accident occurred. It is quite possible that you heard the accident while you were asleep and your subconscious mind "invented" the feeling of someone shaking you and telling you about the accident as a way to wake you up.
-George
"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers, ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."
Modeling the Ogden River Railway in HO.