It’s a passion that takes commitment. Since the trains are run on
extremely inconvenient schedules, sometimes without a return trip,
sometimes before sunrise, the journey means a lot of legwork. If there is
anyone else on the train, it’s probably another ghost train enthusiast.
— “Why Britain has secret ‘ghost trains'” by Amanda Ruggeri, BBC
The ghost train lovers love this best—
not only for its sumptuous
first class—its windows overdressed
but it becomes an ouroboros
a train within a train which means
it’s also a homunculus
with each car throbbing with the sheen
of many selves—all its workers
and all its passengers convene
into palimpsests—a blur
of ghosts—compartments old and new—
beds in the dining car—smokers
indistinct from smoke—tattoo
of wheels in wheels becomes murmur
lost in background—behind menus
sits a businessman commuter
with every disappointing meal
the train has served in its career—
and certainly it is ideal
for filmmakers—historians—
madmen chasers of the surreal—
but railfans love best the bogeytrain.
