Although not a vanishing victim hitchhiker legend, this story contains interesting differences to make it another classic western ghost story. The place was somewhere along the Colorado Centeral Railroad near Golden just west of Denver, Colorado. The date was July 21, 1881.
As the heavy steam engine chugged on, pulling its payload of rolling stock behind it, the engineer kept a close watch out the side window of the cab. All was going well until he cuaght the glimpse of what looked like a beareded man standing on the track just ahead. The engineer fired a warning blast on the whistle and jammed the braking mechanism on as hard and a fast as he could. Despite his quick responses seconds later he was sickend by the sound an feel of a thud against the engines front grill. His engine had hit and no doubt had killed, the man on the track.
It took several seconds for the train to slow suffiently for the engineer to investigate the terrible accident that just ocurred. The distraught man probably took those extra moments to compose himself in antcipation for the gruesome site that would probably be waiting for him on the tracks.
As soon as he safely could the engineer jumped out of the train and onto the side of the track bed. As first he saw nothing-no sign that anyone or anything had been hit by the train. But that was impossible. He'd seen the image on the tracks and felt the jolt as the train had run over it.
There had to be a badly pulverized human body somwhere under the train. Perhaps the remains would be back farther than he thought. Still tanding beside th track he signaled his crew remaining in the cab of the engine to back the train up. As he watched the puffs of smoke from the train recede towards the horizon he was puzzled. There was nothing on or near the tracks for more than a mile. He should have found the body but there was no sign that anyone, dead or alive had even been on the tracks. As he stood in a daze of concern and puzzlement the engineeer tired to reconstruct in hid mind what had happend. Unfortuantely this mental review served only add another strange element to the mystery, for he recalled that the image that he'd seen on the tracks had been wearing a black coat and a hat. It was ther middle of summer such garmets would have been at the very least unecessary and uncomfortable. Badly upset by the cunfusing situation which he found himself in. The engineer signaled his crew to bring the train foward again so that he mght resume his post. The remander of that trip was blissfully uneventful as were many that followed it. In a few weeks the engineer was able to begin to put the puzziling incident behind him- just in time for the another equally strange event. At the spot where the engineer had been sure that the tain had struck and ran over the man in black, he heard a disembodied heart-wrenching moan. Seconds later passengers reported that a image appeared on board- and image of a beared man wearing a black coat and black derby hat. The apparition exuded a sever chill and dreadful odor as it made its way through the train car-before disappearing into thin air. Even when the image had vanished a foul odor clung to the air along the spectors rouote down the aisle between the passengers seats. Some weeks later, Peter Dornin a Denver businessman taking the train along that Colorado lilne reported that a foul-smelling spectoer had for a time, sat down beside him. He added that he sense the presence was not only unnatural but evil. Donrin's sighting was not the last. With each ensuing visit the reports of the ghost became more unpleasant. It seemd that the malevolent spirit was gainging more strength. Passengers who saw the apparition were terrified. On one occasion the phamtom was said to have been responsible for breaking the lighst in a passenger car. Speculation and conern were rampant among the train crews and the general community . The crew members of the train thought to have hit the bearded man were especially distraught for htey always felt that somehow responsible for the haunting. The ghost appearnces on the tracks and in thee train lessend gradual until the 1920's, when the trail route was abandoned in favor for a mondern highway, Highway 93. Over the years mortorists have reported some strange sightings the highway near Golden. Apparently an apparition suddenly appears in their car with them-an image of a bearded man wearing a black coat and derby hate. And then he vanishes- leaving behind only badly unnerved traverlers and and decidely unpleasnt lingereing odor.

Okay, I'm scared. You will not know how many times I felt a chill up my spine after reading that, lol. This is really cool. It doesn't really seem like a vanishing hitch hiker story. Well, now I want to look up on that and see if there were any incidents of one of their trains hitting someone. Just to see if there is a reason that the spirit haunts the train. Thanks for sharing that!

Cya!

hmmmm....A stinky ghost,its bad enough being around when your dead,but leaving a smell when you eave is just insulting.Damn Devil.

ah, but look on the brightside. A stinky ghost cannot sneak up on you.

eewwwwwww good story .......

I always get the stinky person/weirdo/total nutter sitting next to me whenever I use public transport.........

Hammy x x x