I can't shed light on most of these stories, but I...

2009-08-01T15:51:39.338+01:00

I can't shed light on most of these stories, but I can confirm the Talyllyn Ghost Train as a hoax.

Back when the railway was a commerical enterprise, families could rent a waggon for the day which would be attached to the timetabled trains to take them up the line. Leaving it in a siding they could then explore the hills and eventually ride back in the truck after the last train under power of gravity, late in the evening. Dangerous by modern standards (especially since there was no Liability Insurance on these outings), but tremendous fun.

The ghost train story stems from one local who at the time got the idea of reliving this fun for himself - he built himself a trolley and used the help of friends and a Landrover to put the trolley on the line at the level crossing near Abergynolwyn, and then rode it several miles downhill to Brynglas crossing where he'd be collected. People may well have heard him rattling along the line by cover of darkness, maybe lighting his way with a torch, and thus the legend begins.

On the night of the most dramatic 'sighting', the Talyllyn Railway gave permission for a climbing group to abseil down Dolgoch Viaduct, a three-arch structure that stands fifty-feet high over the Dolgoch Ravine. On the same night the joyrider decided to take his trolley out for a spin. The results could have been fatal. The abseilers arrived at Dolgoch and walked along the line to the viaduct, where they tied their ropes to the track and then slung themselves over the parapet - at this point the joyrider shot by, thumping right over their ropes - thankfully none of them broke. However both parties got quite a scare (and since the climbers were already desending the viaduct they didn't get a decent look at what passed them), and the story grew in the telling until the local paper reported the 'Ghost Train'. It's easy to imagine how badly things could have gone were it not for some miraculous timing.

Not long thereafter the legend died - the man responsible gave up his jaunts because of the shock he'd recieved and how close he'd come to possible manslaughter, and eventually blabbed about his exploits one night in a pub and the true story spread round - I heard as much from the landlady of the Dolgoch Falls Hotel and read a matching account in a book on the Talyllyn Railway. Sadly there's no ghost train, but it does make for a gripping story.

That is not to say that there may not be a phantom or two on the line however, as a spectral man has been seen walking in Wharf Cutting, and a ghost dog has been reported in Pendre Yard, all straight from the mouth of a volunteer friend of mine.

Another familiar face to the Season of Shadows Car...

2007-11-04T21:29:00.000Z

Another familiar face to the Season of Shadows Carnival is back at Strange Days. Siani continues to present very interesting posts. For this edition Siani’s discussing phantom rail runners in Ghost Trains of Great Britain.

November '07 Paranormal Carnival at SeasonOfShadows.com

Comments on Strange Days: Ghost trains of Great Britain

I can't shed light on most of these stories, but I...

Another familiar face to the Season of Shadows Car...