MIAMIVILLE: The Trainman's Ghost Still Works The Line

MIAMIVILLE:

THE TRAINMAN'S GHOST STILL WORKS THE LINE

Miamiville is a quiet little village in the northwest corner of Clermont County. Not much is known to go on there today- except on possibly dark nights when trains can be heard using the rails which no longer exist. And seen with his lantern wailing along the old line is the ghost of Miamiville train fireman, Cornelius Conway.

The roadbed of the Little Miami, Xenia and Columbus Railroad, usually referred to as the Little Miami Railroad, is now a paved pathway for hikers. There hasn't been a train pas through Miamiville area in at least 20 years. Nevertheless Cornelius Conway has been seen always at night.

"I've seen the man who is called ‘Railroad Bill’ walking up the line with his lantern toward Lake Isabella. The people say they see the light of the lantern and the figure of a man carrying it. Everyone who knows these stories talks about them in a very serious manner.” says Jim Poe, Miamiville employee.

Conway's infrequent walks of the line began shortly after he was killed on the morning of July 14, 1863. He was in the engine of a train traveling south to the Union camp at Camp Dennison. Some Confederate soldiers under the command of General John Morgan piled cross ties on the track, which were wedged into a cattle guard. They cut the telegraph wires and then hid in a cornfield. The train crashed into the obstacle and the front cars derailed and Conway was killed in the impact. It was a point known locally as the Dangerous Curve.

In 1905 when trains still traveled over the track, a young man was walking home along the foggy track when he was startled when he suddenly noticed about 20 feet ahead a figure holding a lantern. The boy told his father about the occurrence and he said it was the ghost of Cornelius Conway warning the travelers of the fog-obstructing safe viewing distance ahead on the track.

People who fish at night also have seen the misty figure holding the lantern on foggy nights, waving it as if trying to warn them of something.

In the summer of 1932 a late night passenger train out of Cincinnati was speeding through the area when the engineer saw a man walking in the middle of the tracks with his back to the train. He blew the whistle, and stopped the train. After going out to search for the man, no one was discovered.

The trains are gone, the tracks are gone, but a loyal train employee remains on duty watching and waiting for the opportunity to warn modern day travelers of possible dangers ahead.


	MIAMIVILLE: THE TRAINMAN'S GHOST STILL WORKS THE LINE Miamiville is a quiet little village in the northwest corner of Clermont County. Not much is known to go on there today- except on possibly dark nights when trains can be heard using the rails which no longer exist. And seen with his lantern wailing along the old line is the ghost of Miamiville train fireman, Cornelius Conway. The roadbed of the Little Miami, Xenia and Columbus Railroad, usually referred to as the Little Miami Railroad, is now a paved pathway for hikers. There hasn't been a train pas through Miamiville area in at least 20 years. Nevertheless Cornelius Conway has been seen always at night. "I've seen the man who is called ‘Railroad Bill’ walking up the line with his lantern toward Lake Isabella. The people say they see the light of the lantern and the figure of a man carrying it. Everyone who knows these stories talks about them in a very serious manner.” says Jim Poe, Miamiville employee. Conway's infrequent walks of the line began shortly after he was killed on the morning of July 14, 1863. He was in the engine of a train traveling south to the Union camp at Camp Dennison. Some Confederate soldiers under the command of General John Morgan piled cross ties on the track, which were wedged into a cattle guard. They cut the telegraph wires and then hid in a cornfield. The train crashed into the obstacle and the front cars derailed and Conway was killed in the impact. It was a point known locally as the Dangerous Curve. In 1905 when trains still traveled over the track, a young man was walking home along the foggy track when he was startled when he suddenly noticed about 20 feet ahead a figure holding a lantern. The boy told his father about the occurrence and he said it was the ghost of Cornelius Conway warning the travelers of the fog-obstructing safe viewing distance ahead on the track. People who fish at night also have seen the misty figure holding the lantern on foggy nights, waving it as if trying to warn them of something. In the summer of 1932 a late night passenger train out of Cincinnati was speeding through the area when the engineer saw a man walking in the middle of the tracks with his back to the train. He blew the whistle, and stopped the train. After going out to search for the man, no one was discovered. The trains are gone, the tracks are gone, but a loyal train employee remains on duty watching and waiting for the opportunity to warn modern day travelers of possible dangers ahead.