The Last Service
At precisely 11:47 p.m. on the evening of 31 October 1897, the signalman at Blackthorn Junction received an unexpected bell code from the abandoned Whitcombe branch.
The branch had been closed for seventeen years.
Its rails had been lifted, its station buildings demolished, and its timetable withdrawn from public circulation.
Nevertheless, the signal was unmistakable.
Train Entering Section.
The signalman, a Mr Edwin Pritchard, initially suspected a fault in the apparatus.
His suspicions changed considerably when the distant signal cleared of its own accord.
Moments later, the sound of an approaching locomotive could be heard from the direction of the old branch.
There was, according to Pritchard's subsequent statement, only one difficulty.
There was no railway left for it to approach upon.
An Unscheduled Arrival
At 11:52 p.m., a locomotive emerged from the darkness.
Witnesses described an elderly tender engine hauling three passenger carriages, their windows illuminated by a pale yellow light.
No smoke rose from the chimney.
No steam escaped from the cylinders.
And although the locomotive appeared to be travelling at considerable speed, its passage produced almost no sound.
The train slowed as it approached the junction.
Through the carriage windows, Pritchard observed several passengers seated in apparent silence.
One gentleman was reading a newspaper.
A woman appeared to be adjusting her hat.
A small boy pressed his face against the glass.
None acknowledged the signalman.
The locomotive then passed beneath the signal gantry and disappeared into the darkness beyond.
The signal returned to danger.
The block instrument registered Train Out of Section.
No corresponding train was ever recorded at the next signal box.
The Engineer's Investigation
Among the documents recovered from Arthur Cecil Ingram's travelling case is a handwritten report concerning the incident.
Its opening sentence is characteristically unhelpful.
"The locomotive appears mechanically sound, although I have been unable to establish whether it is mechanically present."
Ingram arrived at Blackthorn Junction the following morning.
He inspected the signal apparatus, examined the permanent way and interviewed the increasingly distressed Mr Pritchard.
No defects were discovered.
The signal equipment was functioning correctly.
The track circuits showed no evidence of an occupied section.
And the abandoned branch remained, beyond reasonable dispute, entirely absent.
Ingram nevertheless requested a copy of the last published Whitcombe branch timetable.
The final passenger service, withdrawn in October 1880, had been scheduled to pass Blackthorn Junction at precisely 11:52 p.m.
Its destination was Whitcombe Terminus.
Its arrival time was never recorded.
A Matter of Timetables
Further investigation uncovered an entry in the railway company's accident register.
On the evening of 31 October 1880, the final Whitcombe passenger service had departed as scheduled.
The locomotive, three carriages and their occupants had subsequently vanished.
Despite an extensive search, no wreckage was recovered.
The official inquiry attributed the disappearance to circumstances that could not be satisfactorily established.
The railway company closed the branch shortly afterwards.
Ingram noted that the locomotive observed in 1897 matched the description of the missing engine.
The carriage formation was identical.
Even the gentleman reading his newspaper appeared in a surviving photograph taken shortly before the train's final departure.
The newspaper itself was dated 30 October 1880.
Ingram's report concluded:
"It would appear that the service is continuing to operate, although the railway company has neglected to inform the passengers that their destination is no longer available."
The Final Observation
On the evening of 31 October 1898, Ingram returned to Blackthorn Junction.
At 11:47 p.m., the block instrument sounded.
Train Entering Section.
Five minutes later, the locomotive appeared.
The same three carriages followed.
The same passengers occupied their seats.
This time, however, the small boy at the window appeared to recognise the engineer standing beside the signal box.
He raised one hand.
Ingram returned the gesture.
As the final carriage passed, a folded piece of paper drifted onto the platform.
It was a railway ticket.
Whitcombe Branch Railway
Single Journey — Third Class
31 October 1880
On the reverse, written in an unfamiliar hand, were four words.
"We are nearly there."
Ingram retained the ticket.
The train has not been officially recorded since.
However, the Blackthorn Junction signal register contains an unexplained entry every 31 October at 11:47 p.m.
Train Entering Section.
No signalman has ever admitted making it.
