Passengers abandon the strangest items on trains, one railway shared its amusing ‘lost and found’

For a long time, trains have been one of the favorite modes of transportation that carry millions of passengers to their destinations daily. But in the hurry and scurry of train travel, many passengers often leave behind more than just memories. From the mundane to the bizarre, railway lost and found departments have turned into veritable Aladdin’s caves of forgotten treasures. A railroad company recently released its entertaining list of lost and found items, revealing the strange items passengers leave behind on trains.

The Usual Suspects

Before getting into the more unusual items, it’s worth noting that the majority of lost property consists of everyday objects. According to South Western Railway, “At least five mobile phones a day were lost on a rail network in the past 12 months,” which equates to over £1 million worth of lost phones. Other common items include bags, suitcases, umbrellas, and walking sticks.

But it’s the unusual and even bizarre pieces that make us wonder and try to imagine the stories behind them.

The Bizarre and the Bewildering

One railway operator, Northern, said they had found over 32,690 items left on their services in a year. In a list of some truly eyebrow-raising discoveries, a spokesperson for Northern said: “We’ve had some unusual things handed in to our lost property office over the years – including a hamster without a cage, a wig and a prosthetic leg.”

East Midlands Railway (EMR) joined in to share their list of weird and wonderful finds that included a barrister’s wig and false teeth. If losing an umbrella can be nothing more than a minor inconvenience, EMR also reiterated that “Forgetting a pair of false teeth, a prosthetic leg or a glass eye on a train will impact the daily lives of those who lost them.”

The list of strange items doesn’t stop there. Another train service released their top 10 most bizarre items left on trains last year, which included:

• Prosthetic leg
• 7ft stuffed polar bear
• Barrister’s wig
• Wooden casket
• Toy Dalek
• Trumpet
• A live hamster
• Goldfish in a water-filled bag
• False teeth
• A life-size cut-out of U.S. President Donald Trump

One can only imagine the surprise of train staff stumbling upon a 7ft stuffed polar bear or a life-size cut-out of the former U.S. President! Other odd items left on trains include a plain white handkerchief, and 22 pounds of raw chicken.

International Oddities

The phenomenon of strange lost items isn’t limited to British railways. In Japan, where trains are among the busiest in the world, lost-and-found departments are equally busy. The Japanese Railway Lost Property Market safeguards a wide variety of items left behind by passengers.

In Australia, for instance, there are a staggering 50,000 pieces of unclaimed items in Sydney’s Central Station lost property vault. A Transport for NSW spokesperson said, “Every year, about 7000 smart phones are left behind on public transport in NSW.” But it isn’t just the phones alone they’ve found, some have been even more bizarre: surfboards, monopoly sets, and even a raft boat.

The Human Element

And behind every lost object, there is a story—generally of distraction, forgetfulness, or simple human error. Chen Lingling, working for a lost-and-found office in China, described the experience during the Spring Festival travel rush: “During this year’s Spring Festival travel rush, I found myself busier than ever, diligently recording and returning lost belongings to their owners.”

In New York City, large lost and found operations are conducted by professionals in many public places. John Cheul is the supervisor at the Metro-North Railroad lost and found office at Grand Central Terminal, an office that gives a glimpse into what he calls “the emotional part of the business.” “The stories I hear every day are amazing,” says Cheul. “People are so grateful when they get their stuff back.”

The Cost of Lost Items

Some lost items might appear silly to other people, but to the owners, it is a considerable loss. False teeth, prosthetic limbs, and other medical devices are very much needed for everyday living. Even items that might appear as trivialities can have tremendous sentimental value attached to them.

Transport for London’s (TfL) lost property staff have had all sorts of items turn up, from cooked frogs to false eyes and even a Dalek costume. A TfL spokesperson said, “You’d be amazed at what people leave behind on public transport. While we always try to reunite items with their owners, some things are so unusual that we wonder how anyone could forget them!”

How to Claim Lost Items

For those who have lost items on trains, there is hope. Many railway companies have set up procedures for reporting and claiming lost property. In China, for example, passengers can dial 12306 and give a detailed description of their lost item.

Lost-and-found offices can be very busy during holidays and peak travel times. In one holiday period, the lost-and-found office at a single south China train station in Guangdong Province received nearly 1,000 lost identity cards.

Conclusion

The world of lost and found railways is just a small, interesting microcosm reflecting human behavior, forgetfulness, and the unexpected. From the mundane to the extraordinary, items left on trains tell stories of distraction, urgency, and sometimes inexplicable abandonment.

While we can chuckle at the image of someone leaving behind a stuffed polar bear or even a life-size political cutout, there is a person attached to every single lost item, probably trying anxiously to find their lost treasures. Staffers in lost-and-found offices the world over sweat bullets as they try to restore to their rightful owners all types of objects that have been reported lost, regardless of their strange or mundane nature.

So next time you’re running to catch a train or getting off at your stop, take a moment to check around. You never know what you might leave behind – and you surely don’t want to become an amusing anecdote in a railway lost and found list!