Buzz
Most people have heard of UFO sightings reported from airplanes. Many of us have also encountered stories of UFOs seen from ships or detected on submarine radars. However, one rarely thinks about UFO encounters involving trains, particularly when they're speeding through isolated stretches of track in remote areas of the world.
There is no shortage of such sightings on record, spanning several decades from the beginning of the modern UFO phenomenon up to the present day. Below are ten of the most captivating and puzzling UFO incidents involving railroads.
10. The 1702 Incident: UFO Pulls Train Along Tracks in the Soviet Union
One of the most remarkable train-related UFO encounters occurred on the evening of February 17, 1985, along the Petrozavodsk to Suoyarvi route of the Oktyabrskaya Railway in Soviet Karelia (now part of the Republic of Karelia). Shortly after departure, the train crew noticed a peculiar, spherical object hovering over the trees beside the tracks. The object seemed to be following the train.
Out of nowhere, the glowing sphere rushed toward the train, coming within 100 feet of it. It then shifted to a position in front of the train, still at a distance of around 100 feet. The driver, Sergy Orlov, immediately slammed on the brakes and cut off the engine. However, the train didn’t decelerate. In fact, both Orlov and the other crew member onboard felt as though the train was being pulled along the tracks.
The train continued along its route, approaching Novye Peski Station. It seemed like the mysterious object was about to collide with the station building, but at the last moment, it veered off and circled around the structure before resuming its position in front of the train.
The object continued to pull the train for several more minutes before it vanished. As soon as it disappeared, the train began to slow down, eventually halting at the next station. When Orlov exited the cabin to check for any damage, a beam of light suddenly struck him from above. He later claimed the light forced him against the train itself. After a struggle, he managed to retreat back into the cabin, remaining there until the light disappeared.
The object returned for a third time as the train resumed its final leg of the journey. It once again pulled the train along the tracks for some time before disappearing completely.
9. UFO Collides with a Train in Kentucky
While there is some skepticism regarding the authenticity of the event, what occurred near Paintsville, Kentucky, on the early morning of January 14, 2002, was not just a simple UFO sighting. It resulted in significant damage to the freight train involved.
As the train moved along the tracks, the driver noticed a strange light in the distance. Soon after, the train’s electrical system malfunctioned, and it began to slow down. At this point, the driver realized that the lights were actually silver, disc-shaped objects, and they appeared to be scanning the river below.
Before he could react, as the train rounded a bend, one of these silver objects headed straight for the train. It collided with the front carriage before rising into the air and disappearing from sight, as though nothing had occurred. However, the damage to the train was considerable.
What made the event even more bizarre was the arrival of a mysterious group of engineers and workers once the train reached Paintsville. A man named Ferguson was also present and conducted lengthy interviews with the crew. He eventually informed them that the incident was considered a “national security matter” and urged them to keep the details to themselves. The damaged train cars were subsequently taken into the custody of the unusual team.
8. The Monon Railroad Incident
One of the earliest documented UFO encounters with a speeding train occurred at approximately 3 a.m. on October 3, 1958, on the Monon Railroad in Indiana. As Freight Train 91 made its way to Indianapolis, the crew witnessed several mysterious objects flying overhead. The train itself was nearly half a mile long, with two of the five crew members stationed at the rear of the train.
While the crew at the front of the train noticed the strange lights first, it was the two men at the back—Ed Robinson and Paul Sosbey—who had the clearest view when the UFOs circled around the train and approached them from behind.
Robinson tried to communicate by shining his flashlight toward the objects, but there was no response. However, when he directed the beam of light at one of the UFOs, it deliberately moved out of the way. This occurred several times, causing the glowing objects to seemingly zip off into the distance. The objects followed the train for more than an hour.
7. The 1977 Fostoria C&O Railroad Sighting
On the night of October 21, 1977, Howard Albert was sitting in the cabin of his train, waiting for it to be guided into the C&O distribution warehouse in Fostoria, Ohio. While waiting, he saw what he initially thought was a “shooting star” overhead. However, when the star began to “curve downward,” he realized he was witnessing something truly extraordinary.
The object descended toward the ground and began to slowly move closer to the train. At about 200 feet away, it suddenly halted, hovering roughly 15 feet above the ground. Howard watched in awe before grabbing the walkie-talkie he used to communicate with his conductor, Donald, and told him, "Come up to the engine…we got a UFO here!"
Howard described the object as disc-shaped, resembling a “birthday cake.” It had glowing vertical tubes all around it and was rotating counter-clockwise. He estimated its size to be around 50 feet in height and at least 90 feet in width, and it emitted no sound.
After a few moments, Howard decided to activate the train’s headlight for several seconds to see how the object would respond. To his amazement, the object mirrored the action, glowing brightly for the same duration. By this time, Donald had arrived from the rear of the train and also witnessed the object. Both men later agreed that while they felt the craft was friendly, they had an odd sense of “knowing” not to approach it. After approximately 20 minutes, the object began to spin faster, ascended into the sky, and eventually faded into nothing but a “yellowish star.”
6. Black Triangular Object Photographed in Plymouth, New Hampshire
According to “Joy P,” who shared her story on the radio show Coast to Coast, she captured a photograph of an unusual triangular craft while aboard a moving train near Plymouth, New Hampshire. The sighting took place during broad daylight on the afternoon of October 25, 2003.
Joy claimed that she was attempting to photograph red deer spotted in the forests bordering the train tracks. However, when she reviewed the pictures later that day, she noticed a black triangular craft hovering above the treetops.
Since the object appeared in only one of the photographs, it seemed improbable that it was a reflection from the window. Additionally, the camera had been thoroughly checked and cleaned just hours before the journey. It appeared that whatever the object was, none of the other passengers reported any strange occurrences. Furthermore, Joy herself hadn’t noticed the object at the time, leading some researchers to theorize that it might not have been visible to the human eye.
5. The 1957 Whitley Strieber Account: Abducted by Aliens on a Train Journey
Author Whitley Strieber, known for his writings on UFOs and alien encounters, published the book Communion in the mid-1980s, which detailed his own experiences with abduction. However, if Strieber’s accounts are to be believed, his encounters with extraterrestrial beings date back to his childhood. One particularly noteworthy event took place “sometime in 1957” during a train ride from Wisconsin to Texas with his father and sister.
In an incredibly strange turn of events, without understanding how, all three of them found themselves transitioning from the speeding train to some kind of unfamiliar vehicle. Both Strieber and his sister could hear their father screaming in terror from somewhere nearby.
In later years, through hypnotic regression, it was revealed that the event was indeed an alien abduction. It also suggested that Strieber had been abducted repeatedly from a young age, and that other members of his family had shared similar experiences. Interestingly, Strieber also had faint memories of soldiers in uniform being present during the encounter.
4. UFO Photographed from a Train in Germany
On the afternoon of March 8, 1964, as Harry Hauxler passed through the German town of Oberwesel on a train, he suddenly spotted a disc rising into the sunlit sky. Realizing he had his camera on hand, he aimed it at the unusual object and snapped a photo.
The object appeared to be dark grey or black and resembled a spinning top with a “dark vortex” beneath it.
Many skeptics who have seen the photograph claim the object is simply a road sign or lamppost that was captured due to the train's speed and brief exposure. However, those who believe Hauxler captured something truly remarkable argue that, unlike other cases where the object was only seen afterward, Hauxler states he witnessed the craft rise with his own eyes at that very moment.
The photograph (above) was soon made public and is still considered one of the most fascinating images of its kind.
3. Train Passenger Sees Six Disc-Shaped Objects over the Arizona Desert
In the summer of 2017, a train passenger traveling through Apache County in Arizona reported seeing “six hovering, two-story objects beaming light to the ground.” According to the report filed with MUFON, the witness was unable to sleep and was gazing out of the window when she noticed a “bright light that intensified as the train drew closer.”
She quickly realized there were multiple objects, all disc-shaped, and estimated they were approximately 100 feet away from the moving train. The witness was able to capture several images of the objects in motion, three of which were submitted to MUFON in the report.
The woman’s son, who filed the report, emphasized that his mother was “not one to exaggerate or seek attention,” and urged that her claims be taken seriously. Opinions about what the woman might have seen varied widely, ranging from an extraterrestrial craft to something as simple as a Chinese lantern. The sighting remains unexplained.
2. Senator Richard Russell Sees Disc-Shaped Object While Traveling Through the Soviet Union
On October 4, 1955, Georgia Senator Richard Russell was on a train journey through the Transcaucasia region of the Soviet Union when he spotted a disc-shaped object outside his window. He claimed that as the object ascended, he saw a “flame shot” emanating from its underside.
As the disc sped across the train’s path, Russell stood up and alerted his fellow passengers about what he had just seen. As they all looked out the window, another disc-shaped object appeared, approaching the moving train from the same direction as the first.
While the three men watched in disbelief, a Soviet conductor came over, closed the curtains, and sternly told them to stop looking out the window, a request they complied with.
Once they reached Prague, they reported the sighting to the United States embassy, and soon after, the news reached American reporters. However, when a journalist from the Los Angeles Examiner inquired about the sighting, Russell replied that the agencies he had reported it to “believe it is not wise to publicize this matter at this time.” The event was eventually declassified in 1985.
1. UFO Witnessed from on Board an L&N Train near Mount Vernon
On the morning of October 20, 1973, just before 7 am, a conductor and another crew member aboard an L&N train near Mount Vernon, Indiana, witnessed an exceptionally bright light approaching them from the north. This was during a period of widespread UFO sightings in the state. As they observed the light, they quickly realized it was some sort of craft, though it was unlike anything they had ever seen before. The object seemed to pulse, fluctuating between a blinding brilliance and a dimmer glow. After a few moments, it changed course and moved away from the train.
The conductor then informed the crew in the rear of the train, and soon after, they reported seeing an unidentified object at the back of the train, which appeared to be following them. The mysterious craft trailed the train for quite some time before suddenly accelerating away as quickly as it had come.
In his research, Francis Ridge uncovered that the U.S. Air Force later seized the train for further investigation. However, the outcome of this study remains unknown.
