Mugby Junction and "The Signal-Man"

Mugby Junction includes the famous ghost story "The Signal-Man" concerning a spectre seen beside a tunnel entrance. The signalman of the title tells the narrator of a ghost that has been haunting him.

This was inspired by an incident in April 1866, when Charles Dickens was travelling from London to Liverpool. Dickens's train made an unscheduled stop at Rugby due to one of the carriages catching fire.

While waiting for his journey to resume, he went into the refreshment room for a cup of coffee, and the proprieties, clearly not recognising the celebrity author, treated him rudely. Inspired by this, in chapter three of 'Mugby Junction' he made a scathing attack on railway refreshment rooms and their staff.