PHANTOM TRAINS & HAUNTED RAILROADS

There are endless miles of train tracks around the world, and undoubtedly many of these have been witness to disasters and tragedies throughout time. Although this is not a prerequisite for a haunting, in a world full of mysteries and unexplained curiosities, it is no wonder that some of these train tracks are associated with phantoms and specters. 

Maybe you’ve seen something odd on railroad tracks yourself…? (If so, let us know!) 

Of course, (and lucky for us) Nova Scotia has its fair share of ghost trains. Our province has a rich history of the unexplained in just about every category you can think of. Here are a few sightings of phantom trains right in our own backyard:

1. In Mabou River in Inverness County, years before a railway was built there, one evening a farmer heard what sounded like a train passing by, not far from his farm. He called his wife and children who also heard the unmistakable clatter of a train crossing the countryside, even though they could not visually see it. This became known as the Judique Flyer. Years later when the railway was built in the area, the tracks crossed the exact area that the invisible Judique Flyer had travelled. 

2. The Judique Flyer may have also been reported by two other residents of Cape Breton. Two ladies out walking near a highway in Port Hawkesbury, NS heard a loud, rushing noise and turned to see a huge black “thing” with a light come rattling past them. They watched, terrified, as the spectre rushed right through a nearby fish house. Years later, one of them was on mainland Nova Scotia and witnessed a real train and came to the realization that they had seen a phantom train years earlier. When the land was eventually surveyed to build the new railroad, it was indeed built where the fish house (once) stood.

And one more from Cape Breton:

3. During surveying of the land by engineers for construction of the railway by the Canadian National Railways, a farmer approached the workmen and told them they were surveying in the wrong area in front of his farmhouse, as the train was actually going to pass at the rear of his house. Later, more surveying was done and indeed, the track was built and the train ran where the man said he knew it would. Is this the same farmer who witnessed the clattering Judique Flyer? There is no record to substantiate if it was the same farmer, or if more than one had encountered the phantom train. 

Here are a few reports from elsewhere in Canada: 

In St. Louis, Saskatchewan, there is an abandoned railroad track where various reports have been made regarding the appearance of a train light. It tends to change color and intensity as it moves along. Some claim it to be a ghost train, others say it is the lantern of a train brakeman who was beheaded and roams the tracks in search of his head. This ethereal train still rides the ghostly tracks and has been featured on a Canada Post stamp. 

Years ago, the Alberta Steam train below made its final trip as it was being retired from service. There had been previous speculation the train was haunted. In the picture below, in the second window, there is an unmistakeable image of a man, that many Albertans believe is the ghost in question.

 It’s definitely a man and some will argue it’s a reflection of someone facing the train. The photo has been scrutinized over the years without any definite answers. 

In Frank, Alberta, in 1903 there was a massive landslide which buried part of the town and the rail line in 82 million tonnes of rock and debris. Approximately 90 people were killed and many never retrieved from the rubble. Since then, people have reported weird mists and strange lights hovering in the area, for which no other explanation can be found. Souls of the dead standing guard over their long forgotten bodies? 

Although the following report is not from Nova Scotia, it is definitely noteworthy: 

After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, his body was returned to Springfield, Illinois from Washington, D.C. for burial. Since that time, every April, people report seeing his burial ghost train pass by, en route to Illinois. It is speculated that the train is visible in 180 cities and 444 communities on the route. The train never makes a sound, but comes rushing past whoever is lucky enough to witness it, complete with flags, men in blue coats on board and the coffin in plain sight in one of the funeral cars. All watches and nearby clocks stop for eight minutes as the phantom train eerily passes. In 1911, a fire destroyed the train car that carried Lincoln’s body. Important to note: Many of the places that this ghost train travels through, no longer have working railroad tracks. However, that does not stop the phantom train from rolling through.

This has been reported by many sources, including The New York Times.

Need the link to out paranormal blog?

Nova Scotia Paranormal Events