Key & Compass presents:
Ghost Train
by Paul T. Johnson

• Maps
  • Map 1: Railway Track
  • Map 2: Ghost Train
  • Map 3: Cemetery
  • Map 4: Underground
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Endings, Inventory, Score
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• External links:
  • This game at Homepage (archived), IFDB, IFWiki, and ifwizz.
  • Walkthrough by the author for Release 7 (archive link)
  • Walkthrough by Daphne Brinkerhoff for Release 4
  • Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Maps

Map 1: Railway Track

Map 2: Ghost Train

Release notes:

• In release 5, the carriages were incorrectly coloured as red, red, blue, blue, green, red, black.
• "The Station's Waiting Room" was formerly called "station".
• "Passageway Through The Tender" was formerly called "dark corridor".

Map 3: Cemetery

Release notes:

• In release 5, the name of "Meadow Path" was "path of tranquility".
• In release 7, you can now go east or west from Cemetery Halt to Dartmoor, an endless road location with only track and sky to look at.

Map 4: Underground

Walkthrough

A First Class Carriage

> x me. i.

> take newspaper. read it. (Has a review of the year's events.)

> x Ingrid. x necklace. talk to Ingrid.

> x suitcase. (The ticket collector doffs his hat to Ingrid at turn 9.)

> x ticket. (The carriage is shaking at turn 10.)

> x window.

The train crashes!

Blackness. A Sleepy Unconscious State.

> wake.

Railway Line

> x chest. (Broken ribs?)

> i. (Carrying nothing.)

> x bodies. x debris. x rail. (north and south)

> x engine. x carriage. x snow. x sky.

> n.

Railway Track (several locations)

Note: This key wasn't in release 5 of the game.

> take key. x it.

> x brambles. x embankment.

> s. s. s. s.

> x box. x light. x tunnel.

> w. u.

Top Of Wooden Steps.

Note: This door wasn't in release 5 of the game.

> unlock door with key.

> w.

Signal Box

You see a black locomotive run south into the tunnel! Then you see a caped figure with a lantern call "Look out below" before he enters the tunnel.

> x telephone. turn handle. (You hear Ingrid call "Help me!")

> x panel. (Loose. Also note: a spur in the tunnel goes west.)

> pull panel. (It falls and smashes.)

> look. (A rusty key is now here.)

> take all.

> x rusty key. x coin. x necklace. (It's Ingrid's.)

> x window. x lever. (It can be pulled or pushed.)

> pull lever. (All lamps set to danger.)

> e. d. e.

Railway Track (just north of tunnel)

> get lamp. s. s.

Tunnel (at iron door)

> x door. read writing. x switch.

Although you can explore the south end of the tunnel and the track beyond, there's nothing there for you. You're to go through this iron door.

> unlock door with rusty key. w.

Underground Railway (east end)

> x station. x sign.

> x canopy. x posters. x rubble.

> n.

Platform

> x posters. ("One train only 10:30 every night. One way only.")

> x clock. (Stopped at 10:24.)

> n.

The Station's Waiting Room

A voice calls your name from the window!

> x window. take newspaper.

An apparition speaks, "FARES PLEASE."

> give coin to apparition. ("Beware the Demon.")

The clock starts ticking. It's now 10:25. You now have a railway ticket.

> s.

Platform

> x ticket. ("One way to St. Gorgon's Cemetry")

> read newspaper. (The Illustrated London News 1849)

> x clock.

A red and gold steam train arrives. Carriage no. 2 opens for you.

> s. (As you enter, the door closes and the train leaves the station.)

Red Railway Carriage No:2

> x seats. x lamps. x windows. w.

Red Railway Carriage No:1

> x door. open red door. (locked)

> e. e. e. e. e.

Green railway carriage no:6

Note: This carriage was red in release 5.

After you ask the ouija board about Ingrid, the east door to carriage no:7 opens.

> x ouija. ask board about Ingrid.

There are some optional topics you can ask the ouija board about:

> ask board about me. ask board about crash.

> ask board about train. ask board about cemetery.

> ask board about creature. ask board about ticket.

> ask board about snow. ask board about hell.

When you're done with the board, go east.

> e.

Black Railway Carriage No:7

> x corpse. take black key. (The skeleton points at you.)

In subsequent turns, it gets up and tries to find you, saying "Fresh fare!" It will kill you if it catches you.

> give ticket to creature. (It goes away.)

> w. w. w. w. w. w.

Red Railway Carriage no:1

> unlock door with black key. w. w.

Train's Cab

> x boiler. x boiler gauge. x brake gauge.

> x lever. x chain.

> x sand wheel. x brake wheel. x damper wheel.

It's up to you to stop the train:

> pull lever.

> pull chain.

> turn sand wheel.

> turn brake wheel.

> d.

Cemetery Halt

Although you can go west or east from here in release 7, it's just endless track.

> x train. x moon. x archway.

> n.

Railwayman's Cemetery

> x stones. read inscription. ("INGRID / RIP. / December 24th / 1935")

> x chapel. nw.

Meadow Path

In release 5, this location was called "path of tranquility".

> x lights. n.

Chapel Path South

> x door. n.

Chapel

> x pews. x altar. x lectern. x bible. x candles.

> x inscription.

> e.

Chapel Bell Room

The bell rope stops moving as you enter. The inscription is not in release 5.

> x rope. x inscription. climb rope.

Bell Tower

> x bell. x books. (Search topics.)

> search Ingrid. take list. read list. (Ingrid and you are both listed as dead.)

> search demon. take parchment. read it. (The demon is permitted one soul every Christmas Eve as food. Also this chapel is an entrance to Hell, which the demon guards.)

This works in release 5, but not in release 7:

> search gorgons. take exorcism. read it. (rest of it?)

Yes or No? yes (A textdump of 21 paragraphs is your reward.)

Let's explore more:

> d. w. s. nw. ne.

Chapel Path North

> x statue. ("Salan")

> read inscription. ("The gargoyle's secret is known to the dancers.")

> sw. se. s.

Meadow Path

> ask dancers about gargoyle.

They tell you that if a man walks around the chapel anticlockwise three times, he will meet the Devil.

> n.

Chapel Path South

> ne. nw. sw. se.

> ne. nw. sw. se.

> ne. nw.

Back Of The Chapel

CAUTION: If you attack the demon, you die.

In release 5, only hell was the trigger topic.

> ask demon about Ingrid —or— ask demon about hell.

He offers you one hour to find Ingrid or he claims your life. (If you say "no", he calls you a coward and tells you to leave, but there's no exits from here. Your only option is to ask again and agree.)

"Yes or No what will it be!" yes

You are thrown to...

Railwayman's Cemetery

It's 11pm. A priest is leading mourners in a funeral services at an open grave.

> x open grave. (Steps leading down?)

> d. d. w.

Underground Passage (at hell hound)

> x hound. ("Pluto")

> e.

Underground Passage (at eyes)

> ask voice about Pluto. ("Pluto sleeps!")

> w. d.

Stone Steps

> x messages.

Note how the colour sequence of these next caves echo the colours from the ghost train.

> d. e. e. e. e. e. e. e.

Underground Cavern

> x engine. ("MILTON")

> x skull. x wheels. x switch. (Set for northeast tunnel.)

> u.

A Black Carriage

A gold box is Ingrid and the others?

> x box. (Unopenable. Unmovable.)

> open box. (Ingrid says you need to drive the train down the northwest tunnel.)

> n.

Train's Cab

> x plate.

> pull red. pull red. pull red.

> pull blue. pull blue. pull green. (The track has switched!)

> pull chain. (+1 in release 5.)

> turn brake wheel. (This releases the brakes.)

> push regulator. (The train starts to move. The demon is not happy.)

> turn damper.

> turn damper.

The train rushes into the sky. An iron skeleton returns you to the earth.

*** You have won ***

Extras

Characters

• Ingrid is your closest friend and a star of the London stage. She faces a fate worse than mere death.
• Your fellow travellers, including a ticket collector on the train are all doomed.
• A caped figure, calling "Look out below!, leaves a lantern for you. His identity, revealed at game's end, may surprise you.
• An apparition waits behind the ticket window in the abandoned station's for your coin.
• A guard, the corpse of a ticket collector, a monstrous creature, wants your fare on the ghost train.
• Some willis-dancers a.k.a. spirit lights play with you on the path leading to the chapel.
• The demon will offer you a deal for Ingrid's soul if you can find him.
• A priest and mourners are at a funeral service in the cemetery, but only after you talk to the demon.
• Something with eyes, a voice, and scales lurks in the roots of the trees underground and talks to you.
• Pluto, a hell hound, guards the way underground.
• A iron skeleton, possibly "Milton", crawls out of the boiler of the black train in the epilogue.
• Numerous small animals are mentioned in atmospheric messages throughout the game including rats, bats, mice, and a fox.

Endings

• You have died
• if you venture down the south tunnel without pulling the lever in the signal box first.
• if you're killed by the ticket collector creature on the ghost train.
• if you dare attack the demon at the back of the chapel.
• if midnight strikes during your search for Ingrid's soul.
• if you drive the black train into the northeast tunnel.
• if you fail to speed up the black train sufficiently after you get it moving.
• You have won
• if you drive the black train into the northwest tunnel, then increase the speed to its maximum to escape the demon.

Inventory

• a ticket. There's two tickets in this game.
• You're carrying the first ticket in the first class carriage scene. Read it there, if you like; it'll be gone after the train crash.
• The second ticket, styled a railway ticket, is obtained by giving the coin to the apparition in the abandoned station. Later, after you take the black iron key in black railway carriage no:7, give the ticket to the creature that used to be the train conductor. Once he has your ticket, he'll stop trying to kill you and he'll go away.
• a newspaper. There's two newspapers in this game.
• The first is on the table in the first class carriage. Read it if you like; it'll be gone after the train crash.
• The second is on the table in the abandoned train station. Read it if you like, but it's optional.
• a brass key. It's on the railway track north of the crash site. It unlocks the door to the signal box.
• Note: This item is in release 7, but not release 5.
• a half-crown coin. It's in the signal box. Give it to the apparition in the abandoned station to buy the (second) railway ticket; you'll need to examine the ticket window first to get the apparition to appear.
• a necklace. This jade necklace is first seen worn by Ingrid in the first class carriage scene; it's a gift you gave to her. After the crash, the necklace appears in the signal box, broken and bloody. Take it, but you can't wear it or actually use it anywhere.
• a rusty key. It's in the signal box after you pull the panel there. The key unlocks the door in the tunnel.
• a bulldog lamp. It's left on the track just outside the tunnel when you first enter the signal box. Take it and hold onto it. It's a light-source for the tunnel and other dark places you'll soon be visiting.
• a black iron key. It's in black railway carriage no:7. It unlocks the western door in red railway carriage no:7.
• a list of deaths. Find it in the bookcase of the chapel's bell tower when you search Ingrid. Read it to learn both you and Ingrid died this day.
• the parchment of the demon. Find it in the bookcase of the chapel's bell tower when you search demon. Read it to get the backstory on why the demon has Ingrid's soul and what he intends to do with it.
• the book of Exorcism. Find it in the bookcase of the chapel's bell tower when you search church or search gorgon. Read it if you want to learn more about exorcism, but it's not information you need for this game. It just seems like something interesting that the author wanted to share with his players.
• Note: This item is in release 5, but not release 7.

Score

There is no score in release 7. However, in release 5:

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 1, in several turns.

• 1 point for pulling the chain in the black train's cab. Since this is totally optional, this seems to be a "last lousy point" except there aren't any other awarded points.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with

• the support of Thomas Bøvith, Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Jason McIntosh, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, and Phil Tatro;
• the generous support of Janice M Eisen and Amelia;
• the very generous support of Karl Ove Hufthammer;
• the extremely generous support of Emily Short, Allen Garvin, Jesse McGrew, Jacqueline Ashwell, Marius Müller, and Jennifer Rexrode;
• and the invisible support of several anonymous patrons.