Many of the older longtime residents of this county believe it is. They’ll tell you that they have seen strange things happen in that area. On more than one occasion, reputable citizens of the county told me that they have witnessed the sight of a man dressed in railroad clothing walking down the NBRT near a large pond. Most asked their name not to be given due to their concern that they might be ridiculed. I decided to give no names at all.
You might ask what makes this location susceptible to paranormal activity. I ask the same question and was told about a great tragedy that occurred in that area of the old B & O Railroad track, known as the Parkersburg Branch to the B & O Railroad Company.
I was told that there was a terrible train crash that occurred on September 26, 1919 at 10:10 AM when Train 97, a Grafton-Parkersburg freight train, passed the station then derailed at Tunnel 5. Could there be a correlation between the loss of life as a result of this train wreck as well as others nearby? Can an aberration travel the distance from Tunnel 5 to Tunnel 3?
Train 97 was estimated to have been moving at approximately 30-35 miles per hour. As the train neared the switch point located at the west end of Smithburg, Locomotive #4059 which was a Class 2-8-2 Q1aa Mikado derailed without warning. It continued to follow the contour of the track before curving right in a cut to the east portal of Tunnel 5. Train 97 continued to run after it derailed for over 400 feet. It finally stopped just inside the east portal of the tunnel. It suffered no real damage.
Investigators determined that it had partially remained on the track to the point of the tunnel with the tender car remaining attached. It also came to rest against the tunnel portal. The tender car then became detached and came to a stop. The first three cars remained coupled but ended up against the left side of the cut. The fourth car had telescoped the third. Cars four through six were across the track and the next eleven piled in a mass. The track switch at the west end was torn out along with 400 feet of track to the tunnel entrance.
The engineer whose name is not known at this time was killed and the unidentified fireman sustained injuries. Sadly, the engineer was on his first run since he returned from a ten-day vacation.
Again, on April 17, 1953, a westbound passenger train, Extra 5049 lead by P1 Pacific #5049, which was being used as a troop train during the Korean War passed through Smithburg at 6:31 PM. It had originated at Fort Meade, MD and was bound for St. Louis.
Like the 1919 Train 97, this train was also going 30- 35 miles per hour. The train passed through Tunnel 5 and crossed Bridge 21 which crosses Middle Island Creek until it was approximately 3/4 mile west of the Smithburg depot. At this point, the locomotive was on a gradual curve at a private grade crossing when the drive wheels and trailing railroad car left the track to the north precipitating the derailment.
The linear momentum of the locomotive in the curve was believed to have caused it to leave the track and turnover on its right side coming to a stop 530 feet west of the derailment point and 15 feet north of the track.
According to witnesses, the locomotive, tender car, and baggage car remained attached and uncoupled from the rest of the train before plunging over a 40-foot embankment toward Middle Island Creek. Locomotive #5049 came to a rest partly in the water, pinning Engineer Ira W McDowell in the cab where he died. Fireman Gerald E Marshall was seriously injured with burns and deep cuts on a leg. There were no reported injuries among the soldiers except for a few scratches.
Traffic had to be detoured over the Short Line and the Ohio River Subdivisions by way of Brooklyn Junction for about 20 hours.
There are several other stories of train wrecks, pedestrian deaths by train impact, and the Powell Christmas murder (I previously covered) that does lend itself to the possibility of paranormal activity if one was inclined to believe in such things. For historical purposes alone, those events are worthy of more research.
I’ll leave the debate over the possibility of such beliefs and theories to others who are more qualified to debate such possibilities than I. Still, you have to admit it is thought provoking.
Do you have a paranormal story that you would like to share with us? If so, please email me at: [email protected] or call me at 304 873-1540. I would very much like to include your stories to our list of the unexplained in Doddridge County. You story will remain anonymous, should that be your request.
God Bless
Patricia Harris