Legend of the Switchman

Legend of the Headless Switchman

 

Legend of the Switchman

 

This story has been around for many years. My grandfather’s grandfather told it to him, and my grandfather told it to me. Whether I will pass it on to my sons or not, I don’t care to think about right now. Somewhere they will hear of it and ask me, but as grown men, I expect them to use more common sense than we did as foolish teens.

            Old steam locomotives ruled the rails for many years. The power they could generate was limited only by the amount of fuel and water they could carry or pick up along the way and the strength of the steel boiler. These monsters could continue to build speed and power until they beat themselves to pieces. 

            They had much larger crews to operate them than modern locomotives and in the switching yards, there were no remote control switches or engines, just many people doing a dangerous and sometimes deadly job.

            That’s where this legend begins. The switchman would change the switch and trains would switch tracks to get to their destination. At night, they would wave a lantern to signal the track was switched, allow the train to pass, and normally they would switch the track back, especially when they pulled a train onto a siding off the main track. The conductor or switchman would then catch the train and jump onto the back of the train to get aboard the caboose.

            In a small town close to where I grew up, a switchman was working the yard when it began to rain heavily. His lantern was low on fuel, so he kept it burning lower than normal. As he worked the switches, the rain got heavier and heavier. The rails were always slick, but the rain and oil on the metal rails provided a very slick surface, and the creosote on the railroad ties added to the slippery problem.

            The switchman encountered a heavy switch which would not move easily. Placing his lantern on the switch lever, he found a large rock jamming the rails. The wind was blowing the lantern back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Seeing this signal, the engineer eased his heavy locomotive forward, never knowing the switchman was not clear of the tracks. 

            The heavy rain blinded the engineer who never saw his conductor/switchman fall headfirst across the tracks. With the ease of a hot butcher knife carving its way through butter, the train’s huge wheels severed the switchman’s head from his body. His body, from the legend, grabbed the lantern and ran off into the night, supposedly looking for his head. 

            They searched the area and later found the headless body, but the head vanished from the accident sight along with the lantern. Some say a railroad employee took the lantern as a keepsake, but if you go to the switch, which still operates today and wait for a few moments after the midnight train passes that switch, they say you can see the lantern swaying back and forth on the handle of the switch.

            Needless to say, we could not help ourselves. One summer, we had to see this. We spent several nights waiting for a train to pass the switch at midnight. Seven of us in three different cars. I wanted to take two, but one of the boys with us had just gotten his license and had to drive. 

            We had to see this, so we waited for three nights in a row. We were ready to give up after the second night, but we wasted two nights on this quest, what harm would a third do us? It was summer, we were supposed to have fun, right?

            The third night was cloudy and rain was threatening. Eleven thirty, and no train. Rain started to fall and lightening flashed across the sky. Heavier now, the rain started to cause the windows to fog up as we waiting in the safety of the cars. Eleven forty five, still no train. A County Sheriff stopped to see if we had car trouble, and realizeing who we were, he left us alone with the warning to stay off the track and away from the switch. He drove off in the opposite direction, or we would have sworn he was responsible for what we saw.

            “This is bogus,” one of the boys yelled from a ‘59 Chevy. “Let’s go home.”

            “We waited this long, let’s wait a little longer,” came the reply from an old Rambler. (Yes, we had some cool cars, just didn’t realize how cool they were back then)

            Midnight, and we heard the train. It was coming from our right and we had the switch in sight to our left. This time, the engine was slowing, as if getting ready to stop.

            This was a steam locomotive! It was stopping and it was going to switch. Lightening flashed across the sky again as we saw a ghostly shape step down from the train, carrying an old-fashioned lantern.

            We wiped the fog from the windows as we watched eagerly to see what was going on. The engine began to move, then it suddenly stopped. The engineer ran from the cab as the wheels ground to a halt. Under the flashes of lightening, the conductor/switchman rose from the ground and grabbed the lantern. The headless body ran straight for us!

            Car engines started as we tried to make a hasty escape from the scene. We were expecting to see the lantern, instead we saw the whole thing happen again!           

            Sleeping in was the thing for summer, but none of us could sleep that night. We all watched our backs, scanning the windows for any sign of a lantern in the hands of a headless switchman. 

            The legend lives to this day, even with the modern locomotives. I will never go to that place at night again, but if you chose to do so, make sure you can make a clean get away!   

           

Reviews

[ATG]

This was a very cool story. Reminded me a little bit of the Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, but with a modern twist. The ghost was simplistic, but creepy. The story sounded just like someone telling a story around a campfire. Overall, the story was well written and entertaining.

[EILEEN McGUINNESS]

Congratulations on the account that you were the only entry in my GHOST story competition then you are the winner.

[Sean M. Addams]

very well done this would make an awesome campfire story .... like the story line in this alot makes for amazing read... thanks for entering this...

[Darthalidae]

kool!!

[Melanie Jane Boicourt S..]

Cool story. Why did you keep it from your children? Never mind. I know why. Same reason that I didn't tell my children the story that I posted on here.
Thanks for sharing.
Good luck in the contest.
Love All, Mejasha

[Sean Thomas]

Great! Never heard it before - I love hearing folk tales, especially ones that may still be alive.