Pennslyvanian myth

Long ago, Pennsylvania was ruled by smoke breathing titans that hauled black diamonds out of the hollows. Big 6 was one of these titans owned by the now extinct Baltimore and Ohio railroad. Big 6 was scrapped in 1970, though the lines she worked still feel her. The lines are now operated by CCX system, I will now tell you something out of the ordinary.1

Warren wasn’t new to CCX; he had twenty years of experience, he was set to retire next year. Some would say that he wasn’t capable of handling his engine, especially a red eye. It was one in the morning as his 100-car train rumbled down Big 6’s old trekking grounds, when he heard something that made his blood run cold, something he hadn’t heard for thirty years. A steam whistle wailed. He set his brakes, hard over, emergency. His General Electric DDX40 screeched to a stop, Buffer to buffer with Big 6. The big steamer stood on the tracks, ghostlike. All her parts were clear to Warren, but different, almost half steel half transparent. She let off steam, hissing. Warren swears he saw a face in her cab. But he wasn’t prepared for what happened next. A lantern was swinging itself up past Big 6, he heard boots scuffle on the ladder leading up to his cab, and the door opened. “Sorry about this, but we have priority. If you don’t mind we’d like you to get this EMD out of here so we can come through.” The voice said. A tobacco juice stain appeared on the carpet in his cab. Warren was too afraid to do anything. Boots depressed the carpet on the way to the door. The lantern swung back to Big 6, Warren saw it raised above head level, the highball, proceed. Big 6 chugged forward and locked buffers with the DDX40, even though the brakes were on emergency Big 6 chugged on and Warren felt his train glide backward and into a siding. Big 6 backed off and, with a wail of her whistle. Passed Warren, a long string of hoppers filled with coal all had B&O on their sides. The caboose was a B&O wagon top, and the ghostly conductor inside it tipped his hat to Warren as Big 6 wailed on past and faded into the distance.2