This story, which happened in 1881 in the United States, at one time excited many people. On the night of December 28, a blizzard raged on the east coast of the United States. The temperature was just below freezing, the sticky snow, caught up by a strong wind, quickly turned into an ice crust on the roads.
The inhabitants tried not to stick their noses out of the house. But even the terrible bad weather could not interfere with the work of railway companies, which competed with each other in the punctuality of sending trains on schedule.
Engineer David Garnett left the house reluctantly. Two days ago, he married a young and beautiful Mary Warren. It was warm and cozy at home, the stove was heated, my wife was busy with the housework. But work is work - in a few hours he was to drive the express train west.
Either because of the inclement weather, or after the sad parting with Mary, David was anxious in his soul. Although he was not a beginner in his profession and knew what surprises can be expected on such a night, when there are no rails under the wheels, but ice and visibility is close to zero.
At the depot, Garnet, together with his assistant, carefully examined the locomotive and checked the brakes. The assistant filled the box with sand and took a few more bags in reserve - with such icy conditions it will have to be constantly poured under the wheels during braking
And finally the couples are divorced. The passengers took their seats in 16 cars, the bell rang three times, the locomotive blew its whistle, and the express train, puffing, began to pick up speed. It was warm in the glass cabin of the locomotive, but soon the windows were tightly covered with snow, and the driver and assistant had to lean out every minute to see at least something ahead.
Snow mixed with rain and a frenzied wind hit him painfully in the face, cutting his eyes to tears. It was already dark, and although a bright lantern was burning in front of the chimney of the locomotive, he managed to win back from the night and blizzards only a few meters ahead of the speeding train. The railroad workers led the train, relying more on intuition and God's help.
Suddenly David flinched in surprise. It seemed to him that in the sheaf of light from the lantern, something alive flashed. He brushed the snow from his face, wiped his watery eyes and … realized that the clouds of steam, illuminated by the lantern, were clearly forming a female figure. She moved with the train, now approaching it, then moving away.
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At times, the mysterious figure was lost in the darkness, but after a moment it again emerged from the snowy mist. The woman seemed to be running through the air. As she approached the cockpit, you could even see her features.
"Oh my God! It's Mary! " David exclaimed, startled. "Am I having hallucinations?" - he thought, but then it turned out that the assistant driver had also examined a female figure in the snow veil. The fireman, leaving his post at the furnace, leaned out the window and … saw the same thing!
Now they watched the vision closely. When a woman was very close, either fear or suffering was read on her face. David completely lost his composure. “Perhaps Mary is now dead, and her spirit says goodbye to me,” he said to the assistant.
A colleague tried to reassure David: nothing, they say, terrible happened to Mary, she sleeps peacefully in the warmth, except that she misses her hubby. He is dreaming, that's all, on such a night and not such a vision. As if hearing him, the image of Mary disappeared and did not appear again, and David safely brought the train to the intermediate station, where he learned that the conductor also saw the ghost of a woman from the window of the car. But the passengers could not confirm anything - they slept peacefully in warm cars.
The men came to the conclusion that this sign was sent to them for a reason: secret forces warn them of danger. However, there was no time to think for a long time - it was time to go further. The weather hasn't improved. Snow and rain gave way to a cold downpour, the wind intensified. A freight train rumbled towards me. The bridge over the Elkhorn River was approaching.
At that very moment, the image of Mary Warren suddenly appeared in front of the locomotive! But now her gaze was filled with horror. Stretching her arms forward, she seemed to be trying to stop the train. The eyes begged: “David, listen to me! Don't you understand what I want ?!"
And the train was speeding at full steam - the signal lights indicated that the path ahead was clear. Unhappy Mary made one last attempt to stop the train - and suddenly disappeared into the darkness of the night. A few moments later, the driver and his assistant simultaneously exclaimed: "Red!" Right before their eyes, the traffic light changed color.
"Urgent braking!" - Garnett shouted, and sand fell under the wheels of the locomotive. The brake pads blocked the wheels, but the heavy train continued to roll on the icy rails.
"Full back!" - sounded the command of David, and the wheels spun in the opposite direction. Now, when there were only a few meters to the bridge, all three - the driver, his assistant, and the fireman - clearly saw that the bridge no longer existed: the rails led into an abyss filled with raging water …
The sand and the reverse of the course finally had an effect: the train stopped three or four steps from the destroyed bridge. In shock, the driver looked up at the traffic light and froze: there was not a red, but a green signal!
At that time, we note that there were no remote-controlled traffic lights - the signal was changed manually by a special employee. To do this, he had to open the iron box of the lantern with a special key that only he had. So, a moment ago, when they started to brake, there was no red danger signal at the traffic light! Why did they see him? Who saved them from certain death?
In connection with this incident, a thorough investigation was carried out: numerous witnesses were questioned, all the circumstances of the case were analyzed. It turned out that the bridge over the Elkhorn River collapsed just moments before the arrival of the courier train.
That night, two trains - freight and courier - were supposed to cross this bridge towards each other at intervals of only twenty minutes. The commodity crossed the bridge safely. The trackman saw the bridge intact and lit a lantern at the traffic light, allowing the courier train to enter. Due to the noise of the wind, in his booth, he did not even hear how the water swept the bridge.
Meeting the courier, the lineman looked at the traffic light again and was surprised when, right before his eyes, the train began to slow down. A few seconds later, when the train stopped in place, the same green signal flashed at the traffic light. How and who did this trick, the lineman could not explain. In any case, with all his desire, he would not have had time to do it - it would have taken much more time. In general, the fact remained the fact - a miracle happened that saved hundreds of lives.
The commission investigating the case near the Elkhorn River was very skeptical about the testimony of the machinist David Garnett, considering his story to be pure hallucination. Unfortunately, the opinion of the commission found support in the newspapers: reporters, describing the ill-fated flight, put David in a funny light.
He had to quit his job, although his comrades confirmed under oath that they themselves had seen the ghost of a woman very similar to Mary. His honor was restored when the commission abandoned its original version of visual hallucinations. But the shock experienced did not allow the driver to return to his former place of work, and his further fate is unknown.
The testimony of Mary Warren has also survived. On that fateful night, the woman really slept and dreamed of nightmares. She tried to save her husband: she ran in front of the train, stopped him with her hands, but the locomotive continued to move. David did not understand her signs.
Mary woke up in sweat, trembling with fear, with a severe headache. The details of the dream had been forgotten by the time she woke up, so she did not remember from what kind of danger she wanted to save her husband.
This astonishing case remains unexplained. True, one of the parapsychologists saw in him a manifestation of telekinesis: it was with his help, they believed, that the lights in the traffic lights were changed, and Mary Warren was the source of the telekinetic effect.
Others argued that it could be about collective suggestion. The worried Mary's brain was transmitting signals in her sleep, warning of danger. The thoughts of the members of the locomotive brigade, who worked with maximum exertion of physical and especially mental strength, turned out to be tuned to the same frequency. It is known that in such an environment supersensory perception is added to the five habitual senses, but usually the signal is received by only one person, and not the whole team …
Another question arises: how could the sleeping Mary know that her husband was in danger precisely at the bridge over the Elkhorn River?