The Wilmington morning star., 1946-02-24
Legend of Headless 7rainman
Crows With Passing OF Years

II was in 1859 and the president
ial train bearing Grover Cleveland,
President of the United States,
paused near Maco station, IA miles
west Of Wilmington on the Atlantic
Coast Line railroad, to let the train,
wood-burner, take on wood.
The day was balmy, so Presi-
dent Cleveland alighted from his
coach to take a stroll along the
tracks, While walking along, he
saw a train signalman with a
red and a green lantern
Tell me-" said the President,
what is the purpose of carrying
two signal lanterns?"
Before the presidential train be-
gan rolling toward Wilmington
again, President Cleveland had the
full story of ''Joe Baldwin's Ghost
Light" He also found out that the
two lanterns were used at Maco
station SO that ACL engineers
would not be deceived by the
ghostly weaving of the Joe Bald
win light.
B. NJ. Jones, of the auditing de-
partment of ACL, was on the scene
when the presidential train stop
ped He was a small, barefooted
boy but he remembers well being
hoisted up so affable President
Cleveland could shake his hand.
He also remembers the Joe Bald.
win light.
"One night I was in a group of
boys who were walking along the
track, Jones says, when we saw
the light. 1t seemed to be weaving
along, directly over the tracks at
a height of about five feet. Then
Inc light described an arc and
landed In a swamp beside the
track
The legend of the Joe Baldwin
ghoSt light was born in 1867. In
mat year, section of the ACL
track near Maco station was re-
Oult' During that primitive era of
Iallroadlng, rail cars were joined
by pms and couplers. Joe Baldwin,
ue legend has it, was conductor
Oh car that became uncoupled
ana crashed into another car, kill
1 nm at the trestle.
FIRST Appearance
oAortly after the fatal accident,
uie mysterious light appeared.
scores OF witnesses say it still ap-
pesfS' A popular explanation for
~ is mat Conductor Baldwin, de-
tdpl'ated in the accident, is taking
pe hocternal trips in search of his
nedu' And in 1873, railroad men
sdy' a second light appeared and
b ht Two nights, shining with the
uulisntness of a 25-watt electric
aSh' oulo, would meet one another
sung IN opposite directions.
~ ~ LOOK an earthquake to stop Joe
a nSalaWln'S nightly jaunt. For
tb While after the quake of 1886,
% He Two lights disappeared. Soon
sntI however, weaving sill
t tay along the tracks near the
SS s' they reappeared. Folks
an then that Joe Baldwin was
~ o0lli IN search of his head; may
W., Hey speculated, the other light
body - 'eai I'll u Ills
c,a me ghost light story gained
;sIeoence enough to cause a Wash
M s.on' D. c., investigator to visit
sn .avo and try to explain the thing
too.-enIu!ilcally. But Joe was too fast
u VII NM He saw enough to con-
n Doce nm, he said, the lights were
r oI Jack-o-lanterns," or, as he
'aleo 1t, "ignis fatuus.''
~. Haaehlne-gun deta chment from
M Jl' Bragg encamped briefly in
~ eo 70 try to solve the mystery.
nait ~ least perforate it. They did
er An ACL operations official, vet
sc +m oI ~ years of railroading, has
~ seen the light from the
in H9 u a locomotive. He knows of
m ,' oes when the trains stopped
20 account of it. On at least one oc-
,T gsloh ne and the engineer with
for rO IL ne was riding began to stop
~ me hight, when it disappeared.
+ba an[ee ACL employees have seen
Ter I msnt recently. ]. R. Blinn, af-
cIas viewing it from the south, cir
no eo and looked at it from the
liot H. 1T definitely is not car
lon m'S, because the light lasts too
's' says Blinn. cit also rises