The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-12-12
The Ghost
Locomotive
BY THOMAS r. DEAN

Il
stories. Now that scientists are begin
ming to look with more favor. or at
least with less indifference. upon
| ghosts these stories will be more likely
to begin again to come from the grave
yard where scientific contempt has for
many years buried them. Here Is one
that has recently been resurrected.
Nearly quarter Of century ago.
away out on the Canadian Pacific rail
road. Bill Burton. while driving his en-
CINE on misty night over a road that
had been washed by heavy rains for
four days. came suddenly upon land
slide. Bill reversed the lever and jump
| ed. striking his head on bOwlder. and
was Instantly killed. The locomotive
stopped within few feet Of the slide.
then began to back. There was moth
ing behind it but a caboOse. In which
were two trainmen playing seven up.
They noticed the shock. but. being In
| tent on the game. paid no attention to
1t and didn't know few minutes after
| 1t occurred that they were moving
backward at breakneck speed.
The first thing they knew they didn't
know anything. for they doubled up ON
a passe ger train standing on the track
and were both killed.
One who knew Burton intimately
remarked nj the time of his death
that 1t was perhaps best he had been
killed. He was very sensitive man.
and the knowledge that he had saved
his own life by jumping at the expense
Of such disaster as resulted from
his leaving his engine reversed with
steam on would have driven him to
suicide. Another friend. also an en-
gineer. added. "Yes. and It will trouble
Bill dead just as much as 1t would
have troubled him living"
One night. just such night as the
place. Joe Bigley. an engineer, was
approaching the place OF the landslide.
only he was going in the opposite direc
ton. when suddenly he saw loco
motive headlight. full glare. right In
front of him. With IA gasp for breath
he threw back the lever. AS he did
so he judged that the engineer of The
taneously both came to a stop ana
then began to move backward.
Bigley, seeing that the danger was
passed. stopped his engine and then
moved ahead again. The light before
him receded. He let ii get far enough
to avoid danger. then put on his regu
lar speed. He was expecting every
clio. Ahat q l,n h....
ing engine was about to switch off
but no such signal came. Bigley Wills.
tied. but got no reply. Thinking to
get nearer the other locomotive. h.
put on speed. but just as much speed
was put on the other engine. and al
though Bigley opened her up as wide
as he could the retreating engine kept
her distance
All of sudden the engineer heard
terrific crash come from where the
other engine was, and the light Went
out He had no more doubt that the
locomotive had smashed into some
thing than that he was holding throt
tie. He kept on TO give assistance.
slowing down when approaching the
place where the smashup had occur
red. but be went on and on and didn't
come to any wreck.
In fact. there wasn't any wreck that
could be found. The road was perfect
ly free. and Bigley pulled on to tn,
terminal. When he got there he col
lapsed. When asked II he had run
anybody down or anything like that he
couldn't answer for II time. and when
he righted himself he would not say
anything about his experience. hui
went TO the superintendent and told
him that nothing could induce him t.
run over that part Of the road again
The superintendent got the story Oui
Of him and knew what it all meant
but he didn't let oh. II be had giveI
out that Bill Burton's ghost was ca
vorting around the place where he had
been killed he wouldn't have been able
to get an engineer to take trains past il
for love or money.
"All right. Bigley." he said. "Til
give you a different run entirely. But
| don't want you to say anything about
this business. | think your nerves
have been ovcrstrained. and that has
caused the apparition. But the men
on the road are easily influenced by
superstitious story. and II wouldn't be-
well to have your illusions get out"
As this occurrence was kept pretty
close. the date was not noticed. but
just year from that time another en-
gineer had the same experience. Then
1t leaked out. or. rather. he told all
about it. and somebody suggested that
perhaps Bill Burton's ghost was up
and doing OH the anniversary Of his
death. They looked up the date and
found that the accident and the two
occasions on which the backing light
was seen all occurred on the 23d Of
November. the day Burton was killed.
After that the only trouble the man
agement had TO get engineers to take a
train past the place was on the night
or the anniversary. One Of the men.
Tom Logan who had been connected
with the road for many years and bad
nerves tough ms IN elephants hide.
used to do the job. The president and