Mystery of Train #1702

The event happened about 20 years ago, however people in Karelia still remember it. Witnesses of the mysterious incident are still alive and now believe that UFO actually exists.

In February 1985, a freight train #1702 consisting of 70 empty cars and a locomotive followed to the city of Kostomuksha through Petrozavodsk and Suoyarvi. Engine driver Orlov and his mate Mironov were talking while watching the railway. The train passed the station of Essoila at 2:35 a.m. according to the schedule. Suddenly, Sergey Orlov noticed some strange object behind the trees; the round object was moving parallel to the train. It was not clear what the object might be. The engine driver saw the object let out a ray of light toward the ground and then drew it in. Mironov could not speak for a moment as he saw the ball cross the railway and start moving 30-50 meters ahead of the train. Sergey Orlov stopped the engine and slammed on the brakes to avoid collision with the bright ball. But the train would not stop; it seemed that some strange power still pulled it. The engine driver and the mate felt as if hypnotized and stared at the mysterious object. Later, they told the inquiry the object was a regular geometrical form of about four meters in diameter. It moved silently above the surface as if drifting.

The train was approaching the Novye Peski station. Sergey Orlov switched on his portable radio and felt happy when the device was on. He made desperate attempts to explain what has happened to the train to a person on duty at the station. The woman could hardly understand what the engine driver was saying, but still went out to meet the train approaching the station. The woman was extremely surprised to see some vibrating object looking like an upturned basin, the shining ball followed the vibrating object and only after them the train appeared at a speed of 60 km per hour. It seemed that the ball might hit the building of the small station.

But right before the switch the ball suddenly separated from the diesel locomotive and passed around the building of the station. But the train would not stop and passed the station at its gathered speed. Historian Alexey Popov investigating UFO in the republic of Karelia says that the engine driver and the mate mention only the ball because they could not see the object resembling an upturned basin from the cab. On that mysterious day, as soon as the ball passed the switch it immediately rushed to the train. When it moved off the train, its speed reduced at least by half. The diesel locomotive twitched heavily, and the men inside of the cab hit against the windshield. However, the locomotive gathered its speed as soon as the shining ball approached the train again.

The train managed to stop only near the Zastava station. The ball disappeared behind the forest. The locomotive crew had to wait for a train coming from the opposite direction, to the city of Petrozavodsk. The engine driver got out of the cab to examine the wheels. As soon as he walked around the locomotive he felt some strange force press him against the machine. He could not move; when the man could move he hardly reached the cab. That was strange but as soon as he reached the cab, the train started off as if it was waiting for the man to take the seat. The train kept on moving for some time until the shining ball disappeared behind the forest.

Alexey Popov says that the incident lasted for an hour and twenty minutes, the period within which the ball pulled the train for over 50 kilometers. That spared 300 kilograms of diesel oil for the locomotive. People involved in the incident experienced a strong nervous shock. Automatic recorders of the locomotive and other official documents prove the reliability of the strange incident. However, there is no believable explanation to the phenomenon. The shining ball was noticed earlier at the Kutizhma station even before it came across the train #1702.

This is a hard task to pull a train weighing 1560 tons for 50 kilometers; it requires much energy, indeed. Sergey Orlov says the ball acted rather intelligently, as it passed around switches and buildings of railway stations, and even withdrew to the forest when a train appeared from the opposite direction.

The story seems to be incredible until one meets people who took part in it. The railway workers would hardly lie, as they do believe that the incident was an UFO visit.

Doctor of physical and mathematical sciences from the Moscow State University Leonid Speransky commented upon the phenomenon. "The hypothesis of extraterrestrial life existing in other galaxies cannot be ruled out. It is frequently said that organic substances may be formed not only on the basis of carbon and water, the way substances are formed on this planet. Adherents of the theory say that life may be formed on the basis of silicone and other chemical compounds; substances formed out of these materials can survive under extremely high or low temperatures. If we allow these theories, then we can suppose that life may exist even in the form of clouds and shining balls of some organic substance. However, we can neither confirm nor deny existence of extraterrestrial life as based on present-day scientific researches."

The number of reports about UFOs from witnesses is enormous in this country. The Vestnik UFO bulletin held a research in 1999 and revealed that about 9 per cent of Russia's population say they witnessed UFOs and 56 per cent believe that these objects exist. The UFO is a universal phenomenon, as polls held in other countries reveal approximately the same situation. In the epoch of space voyages people are used to seeing planes, helicopters and balloons high in the skies. However, they still expect miracle and strange phenomena.

In 1963, the US carried out the Blue Book project and considered about 13,000 reports from UFO witnesses. Upon completion of the research, the commission decreed there was no evidence proving that the phenomena under report were of extraterrestrial origin. In some cases we do not have enough information to define what we actually see above the head. The nature of UFO phenomena is in fact fantastic stories invented by people. The phenomenon observed in Petrozavodsk highly likely belongs to the category of UFO legends; not only participants but also law enforcement structures believed in its reality. One of the most credible hypotheses explaining the phenomenon is that the shining object was in fact ball lightning that appears not only in thunderstorm. Unfortunately, ball lightning is the least studied phenomenon today. It is highly likely to be an enormous energy substance which power can be compared with a large electric power station; it spontaneously ejects quantum vacuum energy. It is well known that ball lightning can influence man's psyche and state of health; unfortunately people cannot predict how ball lighting will move or control it.

Natalia Leskova