The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1883-02-15
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The enginemen of the Reading Rail-
road report strange things from the
Schuylkill Valley, about Fort Kennedy
Station and Royer's Ford. Witches.
ghosts, and COLLINS are said to haunt
the country at night. stopping trains by
waving spirit red lights across the track.
frightening the train hands with their
ghoulish cries, and even at times squat
ting like imps of darkness on the rear
platform. When the nights are dark
and stormy the frightened shrek of the
engine, as it darts through the darkness
like great fire-eyed eyclops, often
arouses spirit from the very center of
the track. Engineer David Lowe, who
left Philadelphia with his train yester-
day afternoon, tells a most wonderful
story of what he recently saw at Roy
er's Ford. His sturdy engine was max
ing thirty miles an hour, as the train
swept away from .Pottstown through
the binding snowstorm. The wind
chased the flying express like mad.
catching up clouds of snewfakes and
sweeping them in a hundred fantastic
shapes through the midnight air like
scream of the tempest seemed to supply
q supernatural voice.
DARK AS A MOUNTAIN OF COAL
''The night" said the engineer. twas
SIS dark as mountain of coal. and
and my fireman, William Miller, had to
keep sharp lookout ahead. / had
heard of ghosts on railroad tracks, but
l had never seen any. In fact / don't
believe in ghosts or spirits or anything
of that kind; and don't say that what
we saw was ghost. l know it wasn't
a ghost, but it was very queer, and
tell you it made me feel mighty funny.
The snow was whirling up in front Of
US, and it was impossible to see the
track very far ahead. All at once we
saw red light, good ways off in the
darkness. 1t didi't seem to be right on
the track, but little to one side. We
slowed down, and ran ahead cautiously.
When we had gotten within few yards
of the light it was swung across the
rails, and something like = woman
dressed in white stepped on the track.
We thought there had been an accident,
and stopped the train. Before we could
get out of the cab, however, the figure,
light and all, disappeared. Where, we
could never tell. It just seemed to van
ish. Were we frightenedp Well you
see, the storm, and the ghost-like things
made by the drifting snow. the dark
night and this mysterious apparition
were calculated to make US feel very
uneasy. 1t was about the strangest
thing ever saw in my life, and a, man
in a locomotive cab sees some very
queer sights.'
The Port Kennedy Station ghost,
which has for some time been exciting
the curiosity of some of the train men
and the terror of others, is believed in
by more than one of the rugged old en-
gineers. 1t is said to be
THE SPIRIT OF TRAMP
who was run over by train in that To-
cality over ten years ago. Plenty of
Reading employees will swear to having
seen this phantom. Some of them have
shot at it, some even have knocked it
on its ghostly head with cordwo ood
stick, but the bullets went through the
scepter without injuring it, and the club
only seemed to beat the air. Engineer
Charles Welch reports having seen this
ghost on Christmas night, and others
have encountered it since.
The engineer has since been on the
lookout for it again, and on last Satur-
day night it appeared on the track just
below Port Kennedy Station. For a
moment he thought it was a real man
of flesh and blood. In second his
hand was on the throttle-bar and the
brakes were put down, but not in time
to prevent the train from running over
the mysterious track-walker. The fire.
man thought that they had killed n
wayfarer. although there was no shock.
Although the engineer was sure it was
the ghost, which could not be harmed
! even if dozen trains should run over
it, the conductor and some of the hands
went back to find the body. There was
nothing there, and, although everybody
| laughed at the engineer when he told
| them it was the ghost, they all agreed
that the affair was awfully strange.
Among the other persons who have
come in contact with this reformed
spirit of the dead tramp is brakeman
George Nelson, who tells a thrilling
story of his encounter with it on New
Years eve. He emptied both cham
bers of his double-barreled gun directly
at his face, bat it only laughed and
foated away on the wings of the howl
ing wind. These and other strange
stories are the current gossip of the
Thirteenth and Callowhill streets Sta
ton, and the night men who pass by
the Port Kennedy Station or through
Rogers Ford keep sharp lookout for
the ghost of the rail PtiJadelphtd Rec
ord.