The Ghosts of Railroads Past...

In keeping with my last post, I've been thinking a lot more lately about how much I've enjoyed railroads over the years. They're still my favorite means of transportation, and it's quite sad seeing how rail travel has died out over the years. People might say that the automobile killed streetcars and passenger railroads, but that's not entirely true. They were still very popular when the transit systems were dismantled. It was mainly a change in public mindset brought on by billions of federal dollars spent to build national highways. In nearly every metropolitan city across the nation (and many small towns in between), it was possible just 60 years ago to get almost anywhere via interurban streetcars and trains.

Since the mid-1800s, railroads shaped and formed this land and our cities. The stories of Casey Jones and John Henry are forever remembered in their old folktales. And it's hard to travel anywhere without passing (or crossing over) an old railroad line, if you know where to look. Many of our towns sprang up from railroad lines snaking across the landscape. Sadly, many of them died out when the trains disappeared. In the Cuyahoga Valley alone, I can think of several towns that have disappeared off the map when the Cleveland Terminal & Valley Railway was sold and switched entirely to freight.

Slowly, I'm working on compiling together some of the thousands of old legends and myths associated with the railroads. Eventually, I'll be setting aside part of my website for them, but there's a lot to wade through before I get there. I find railroad ghost stories just as fascinating as the golden age of steam. Just in Ohio, there are dozens of ghosts associated with train wrecks and accidental deaths from the Ashtabula Train Disaster to the tragedy outside Republic, Ohio, or even the specter of Lincoln's Funeral Train. Even one of my first visits to a haunted place as a teenager was train related: the old depot in Galion, Ohio.

All of the hauntings I've heard have involved steam locomotives, oddly enough. I'm sure there are diesel engines behind hauntings out there somewhere, but I'm content to stick with steam. It's a dying technology; if we don't keep teaching generations about operating old steam engines, they'll become mystifying museum relics. Few people who are alive today can operate an old engine. They require skill and finesse you won't find in a simple diesel engine. Perhaps that's why when it comes to historic preservation, I think railroads are so important.

Interestingly enough, we owe much of the current railroad preservation efforts to two men: Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg. They pioneered railroad pictorial books and started the California State Railroad Museum. Much of our history would be forgotten were it not for these two men. And what's even more interesting is they were a couple. Yes, railroad preservation owes a lot to two gay men. You can still see their private car the Virginia City (complete with its elegant interior that would make Liberace jealous) in California.

Local Ghosts by Rail...

Back around 2004, I was trying to put together a ghost tour on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be; there were some issues raised by the fact that it was both true ghost stories and locations in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I can't blame anyone for the plans being thwarted. There was (and still is) some threat of vandalism within the park system, and inviting people to start exploring the valley for ghosts late at night always carries with it the risk of unscrupulous individuals wreaking havoc on historic places.

But times have changed. Ghosts and hauntings have gained popularity and are seen as a possible source of revenue for many businesses. Slowly, the National Park Service has opened up to the idea of telling ghost stories. They may deny any possible existence of paranormal phenomena, but seeing how popular Gettysburg is with tourists looking for a few ghosts and scares can be an influential power. And now, even the scenic railroad has opened up to otherworldly possibilities.

For anyone looking for something spooky to do this weekend (or during a few other weekends this summer), one option is the new Train to the Paranormal on which visitors can leave Northside Station in Akron for a trip full of ghosts and psychics. On the journey south, guests are accompanied by two mediums—Anne Miller and Helen Mayor—who will offer personal readings to anyone interested. The train stops at North Canton where passengers disembark and board a bus for Canal Fulton. At the Warehouse on the Canal, they will have dinner and drinks in the style of a Victorian wake followed by a ghost walk of the old canal town. The 5 1/2 hour round-tour costs $80 per person and ends back at Northside around 11:00 PM.

Canal Fulton is a lovely (and spooky) little place, full of many ghostly tales. I have been there several times, both to investigate the Warehouse and take Sherri Brake's tour. I've been on a few investigations with Sherri over the past decade and highly recommend her Haunted Heartland Tours. I have also worked with Anne Miller and her daughter, Brenda Brand, on a few investigations (all four of us investigated a few places in the valley together back in September 2005 for the Akron Beacon Journal) and find them both delightful people. Undoubtedly, this is one railroad trip worth taking.

Hopefully, one of these days I'll give another go at an event tied in with Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. I have a few ideas kicking around inside my head as we speak, but they'll require plenty of planning and cooperation with a few businesses. But until that time, at least you can enjoy a few ghost hunts dreamed up by other creative people.

Everything Old is New Again...

To most people, the whistle and chug of a steam locomotive is a haunting memory from the past. Specters of a time when steam was king still are scattered throughout the world in museums and (in some rare instances) as working dinosaurs brought back from the railroad boneyard. The golden age of steam is gone. These trains are a thing of the past.

Or are they?

On first glance, Britain's Class A1 Number 60163, named the Tornado, looks like just any other resurrection of the past. In reality, while the plans date back about 5o years, the locomotive itself first took its trial run in August of 2008. It's a brand-new steam locomotive built in Darlington by Hopetown Carriage Works which took 18 years and £3 million to create. Saturday marked her maiden voyage from York to Newcastle.

In fact, with booming fuel costs, people the world over are rethinking the use of diesel over steam. In Paraguay, steam has been brought back for tourist trains. Switzerland and Austria added new steam locomotives to some rail lines. A steam line from Chile to Argentina also is in the works. In fact, the Hunslet Engine Company (founded in 1864) is back to producing steam locomotives in Leeds after 35 years out of the locomotive business.

There is a certain mystique to steam engines which are lacking in cold diesel locos carrying freight to and fro across the US and many other nations. The beauty of the intricate gears spinning in clockwork unison harkens back to the time when travel wasn't only about the destination, it was about how you got there. Today, we speed along in a hurry to get somewhere while missing everything along the way. We clambor into planes hoping for a quick flight or drive at fastest speeds to get from point A to B.

But for many of us, the ghosts of steam still haunt us with pleasant longing. We long for excellent meals in dining cars instead of inedible rubbish on a plastic airline plate. Hopefully, with such specters as these rising from the grave, people will start to rethink their priorities. Instead of insane breakneck speeds in automobiles, applying make-up in rear view mirror while texting and risking accidents for that not-very-important instant message, we still might be able to relearn allowing someone else to take the reins as we sit back, enjoy the ride, and have more time to do these daily mundane tasks as scenery flies by our windows. To interact with other people in public transportation instead of closing ourselves into little boxes and avoiding the world around us.

Dead or alive, we're all a part of something greater than ourselves. We're a unique blend of thoughts, history, and cultures. The world isn't something to be afraif of and avoid; it's something to embrace, learn from, and become involved with. Perhaps our world would be a better place is we took the time to think about what lies beyond the dashboard and step on board a railway once in a while...

Going on a Sentimental Journey...

Today, we celebrate the beginning of a new holiday in America: National Train Day.

With growing fuel costs and more citizens becoming aware of the need for a rebirth in public transportation, passenger and commuter train ridership has increased steadily over the past several years. Instead of spending countless hours in an automobile, some people are discovering the pleasure of sitting back and enjoying the ride.

On May 10th, 1869, the Golden Spike was driven into the ground at Promontory Point, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Thus began the nation's great railroad era. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (a.k.a. Amtrak) has chosen the 139th anniversary to celebrate America's railway heritage. Events are scheduled across the nation, with the biggest festivities occurring at four of the biggest stations in the US: Pennsylvania Station in New York, and the Union Stations in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C.

Having journeyed across the country via rail, I have seen first-hand what a pleasurable experience it can be. While it may not be as rapid as air travel, the leg room, food, and scenery cannot be matched. Amtrak is also working hard to reduce fuel consumption in an effort to go green (the company is 18% more energy efficient than any commercial airline). And because of these efforts, while plane fuel costs might drive up ticket prices, rail travel is far less effected. With the addition of electric locomotives on several routes, those emissions and fuel costs are virtually eliminated.

On an interesting side note, it might be beneficial that railroads are looking to alternative and environmentally-friendly fuels. Anthracite coal contains many impurities, including sulfur, silicon, aluminum, mercury, thorium,... and uranium. That's right, folks: being around burning coal is possibly worse than being near a nuclear plant!

Cheerful thought, eh? It's a wonder more old railway workers and ghosts aren't glowing green...