As Britain’s railways transitioned from steam to diesel, not all change was mechanical. Some, it seems, was far more mysterious.
Neil Taylor recounts a haunting Christmas Eve journey set against the backdrop of a rapidly disappearing railway world. Steam sheds stood silent, branch lines rusted into obsolescence, and Victorian stations were being cut down only months after closure. Coal trains still ran, but the spirit of the old railway was fading fast.
George, a young railwayman, dreaded his turn on the footplate with Driver Edwards — a man feared across the shed for his cold, dismissive manner. Many had hoped Edwards would retire with the end of steam, but instead, he mastered diesel traction and planned to work on until his 65th birthday.
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To George’s surprise, their weeks working coal trains together were calm, professional, even courteous. On Christmas Eve, with leave tantalisingly close, the duty was straightforward: return a guard’s van to the colliery reception, hand it over to an NCB ‘Austerity’ tank engine, then run light engine back to the new diesel depot before catching the staff bus home.
Passing the abandoned steam shed — silent for the first time in a century — they drifted through villages alive with Christmas preparations. Near a closed seaside branch line, already dismantled despite its recent closure, Driver Edwards unexpectedly stood, gestured to the controls of the EE Type 3 diesel, and told George: “Take her home, lad.”
As George drove, his nerves faded into an unnatural calm. Without fully understanding why, he brought the locomotive to a stop. Stepping down from the cab, he saw the reason: the ballast ahead had slipped away completely. The rails hung exposed over the void, sleepers dangling like concrete Christmas decorations above the river below. Disaster had been narrowly avoided.
Later, awaiting debriefing at the depot, George asked Edwards what had happened.
In a hushed voice, the older man revealed a secret he would never share again. He explained that he belonged to a Spiritualist Church and possessed an uncommon gift of sight. From the day they first met, Edwards had seen a spirit constantly beside George — watchful, attentive, and deeply connected to him. The apparition appeared to be learning, observing every control movement, every action on the footplate.
On the final run, just as they joined the main line, the spirit acknowledged Edwards for the first time. It pointed to George, then the driver’s position, and finally pressed a finger to its lips. When George took the controls, the spirit placed its hands over his, guiding them until the engine stopped safely.
From that day on, Edwards never mentioned the ghost again. George never asked. Some knowledge, it seemed, was best left unexplored.
The original Ghost Story words by Neil Taylor appeared in The Railway Magazine. To subscribe, please click here https://www.classicmagazines.co.uk/the-railway-magazine
