Happy Halloween! Scary train stories 2010!!

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I thought now would be a good time to start another thread for some creativity.[:-,]

This is the story of “The Train That Wouldn’t Die”!

The month was October, the Sun was shining bright, and Bob Garnerbert was on his way home from the LHS. He had a lot of money to spend on his hobby, and was excited because he had just purchased a brand new brass model of the “Casey Jones” 4-6-0, with a spectacular paint and lettering job, the highest level of detail ever found in any N scale model, a sound and DCC system that worked and sounded as good as the top-of-the-line units in larger scales, and perfect performance. With his hands nearly shaking from excitement, he unpacked it from its protective box and carefully placed it on the layout. In a few minutes, it was programmed and running around his 25’ x 55’ railroad empire like a dream.

Suddenly, without warning, the 1/4 scale mile tunnel, newly finished and still containing wet paint, ground foam and glue, collapsed on the 4-6-0. Unfortunately, the glue was semi-conductive and somehow got into the electronics. Because of the new circuit, Bob couldn’t stop the engine from running in place, and he unfortunately didn’t have an off switch for the track. He hurried to dig the engine out of the tunnel as fast as he could, which took an hour.

When he finally got it out, it was too late. The paint, foam and glue had worked its way into every moving part, the extra weight on the engine while slipping the wheels wore the plating off and even made small grooves in the treads, the N scale crew was decapitated, and the super fine, fragile detail and paint was destroyed. And unfortunately again, the warranty didn’t cover damage due to layouts collapsing. The damage was beyond repair. With a tear in his eye, he placed the engine back in its box, and buried it in the garden.

That night, he fell into a very long and depressing sleep. Meanwhile, under the garden, something strange was happening. A capa

2

Here is a small sample of a Halloween story I wrote for the Model Railcast Show. If you want to hear the whole thing, tune into the next episode coming out Monday. Enjoy!

Fredric Deker had been a long time railroad employee, and he wasn’t too pleased at how things had progressed. The youngins were just as good as they came, but they couldn’t do much in that case; yes, they knew how to run the train, but the extent of which was only to inserting the rubber key into it’s hole. It was just this morning when switching some tank cars that he had to mend a broken pipe, because the yard’s ground crew didn’t know how. But at least they had a personality, unlike Ike, his trainer on the Penn Central, who hated everything about how the railroad was run and rarely spoke of anything else. So the new hostlers weren’t too bad in that respect. And then there were those kids at corporate. They always had the wrong ideas. Who ever had the idea to run everything as extras? That had no challenge. Nor was it reliable. They were treating the real deal as a model railroad. All you have to do in the event of a crash was press the emergency stop button, and the thing would pull to a stop instantaneously. No, that was not the case. If you had a single track main, and no passing sidings, the oncoming train would either be badly delayed, having to back up some upteen miles, or you have millions in lawsuits in damage.

His radio crackled to life. Deker, Carson here from control.

“Yes control, I hear you,” said Deker

We have some very weird readings here.

“What kind? This isn’t star trek, how can you get weird readings”

Thats exactly what we’re wondering. A few minutes ago, the gates of Wytler crossing fired.

“Well what was it? Have you checked the video feeds? And why are you even calling me about it? I don’t do emergency technical repairs.”

*Yes, we che

3

Nice going you guys, I’ll lhave to dig out Rock Valley from last year, maybe see if I cannot spin something up for Madison.

With all this mention of wristwatches going wrong I’m finding yself thinking Lincoln’s train (closcks supposedly stop for the 8 minutes as it passes)

4

I heard my grandmother mention seeing the " ghost man" standing on the old Logan(Oh) station platform when she was a girl.

Mind you she was not one to suffer fools or foolishness.

5

You think the neighborhood kids will think I’m strange if I hand out HO scale 1:87 candy?, instead of regular sized candy?

LMAO ohhhhh the horrrrroooorrr! OMG I think the HO scale people are taunting me now!

Happy Halloween!

6

Not a ghost story, but the Ghost Hunters are broadcasting a live investigation from the old Buffalo Central Terminal on SyFy.

7

I have a scary story. A really scary story.

THEY ARE BRINGING BACK HORN HOOK COUPLERS. AND THEY’RE GONNA BE MANDATORY!

Dave Nelson

8

all the manufactuers went to limited production/pre-order

9

Oh come on now, that’s a little too far fetched don’t you think? [:^)]

10

Supposedly there is a ghost train that comes through every night by friends house. The odd thing is he or his neighbors have never heard it. There were tracks, but they have been ripped up for a long time.

There is also no record of a train wreck of any kind in the area.

11

This is a story my grandfather told me years ago. He himself had it heard from his grandfather, an engineer with the Royal Prussian Railway Administration.

It was an icy cold night at the end of October 1872 – the night before All Saints day. Snow had fallen the previous day, covering the land with a pale white blanket, sparkling in the moon lit sky.

Oskar Schneidereit, the engineer and his fireman Maslonka were waiting in the staff´s quarter of Dirschau station for the courier train to Konigsberg to arrive and to relieve the train´s probably weary crew. The train was running late, due to the unexpected spell of cold and the snow. Schneidereit and Maslonka sat in silence, enjoying the warmth reflected from the iron stove in the room. The silence was only interrupted by an occasional puff of smoke from Schneidereit´s pipe, giving the scene a peaceful atmosphere.

All of a sudden, the entire place was turning busy, as word was given that the delayed train was about to arrive. Schneidereit pulled himself up from the chair with a slight groan. At the age of 48, he was not an old man by years, but working with the railway was taxing one´s health in those days.

When the two stepped out of the room onto the platform, an icy cold wind blew into their faces. There were only two glowing lights in the distance, growing bigger, as the train approached Dirschau station. But what a sight to see, when the train finally stopped! The locomotive, one of those new-fangled “Americans” 4-4-0´s, was thickly covered with ice and snow, as was its crew. The Royal Prussian Railway Administration did not believe very much in protecting th

12

My scary story is out switching west Nashville a 2am. Pitch dark and I thought I was alone. I just got done operating a switch when I heard “hey buddy, got a cigarette?” I’m pretty sure my light was shaking as I tried to look around and find him. I neve did see him. Wierd…

-Dave

13

This pone is late, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Madison is a town of rich and varied history: ancient buildings and rich famous folk. So naturally, there are ghost stories. The most popular circle the old hotels, but a formerly decrepit rail line that happens to inspire awe on its own also draws the curious.

For young Tommy, this also meant a good teasing. He was a new student in Madison, his family moved in to find cheaper rent on downsized paychecks. They were fortunate it hadn’t been the jobs. Tommy though, had had a rough go. He was shy, a bit insecure, and “the new kid”. That meant frequent bullying. Even still, he hadn’t learned who not to trust.

“…So you see Tommy, anyone who dares to hike The Grade at midnight next Saturday is destined to meet The John Brough one last time.”

“Of course, no coward will go do it, but someone who’s actually somebody will hike the path.”

Before any else was said though, one fo the girls in his class came to his aid. “So then tough guy, what’s hat old beast llok like then anyway? Can you see the fires through her boiler? Is it even still there?”