Great Train Robberies

[Bee]

Great Train Robberies

1. The First Train Robbery in the West
Although Jesse James popularly gets credit for committing the first train robbery, the following robbery actually predates his: On November 5, 1870, just west of Reno, NV, a Central Pacific passenger train was overtaken by a gang of robbers who'd been tipped off that the train was carrying gold worth $60,000. The conductor was forced to apply the brakes and separate the engine, tender, baggage and express cars from the rest of the train. The engineer was then taken to the express car to request admittance. When the door opened, the expressman was greeted three sawed off shotguns. By prying open boxes in the express car, the gang was able to uncover $41,000 in gold coins. The spoils weighed over 150 lbs. However, the robbers inadvertently left behind $8,000 in silver, $15,000 in hidden gold bars, and piles of bank drafts. (Keep in mind that an acre of land cost about $5 at the time.) All of the robbers were apprehended or killed before being able to enjoy their bounty.


2. Jesse James' first Train Robbery
The notorious gang leader, Jesse James, is a Wild West legend. He and his colleagues the James-Younger gang, had already established a local reputation for crime before the legendary robbery. Former confederate guerillas, the gang dressed in KKK garb. They then loosened part of the track and attached a rope to it near the Adair, Iowa station. As the Rock Island train approached the station on July 21, 1873, the engineer saw the rope tied to the rail. He attempted to back the train up to avoid the hazard, but was unsuccessful. The engine, tender, and baggage cars were derailed and the engineer killed. Jesse and his brother Frank, approached the expressman with cocked 44's. The James-Younger gang rode off with nearly $3,000—worth about $51,000 today.

3. Gads Hill Missouri Great Train Robbery
Jesse James may not have been the first to rob a train in the West, but he was the first to rob one in Missouri. On January 31, 1874, the James-Younger gang rode into the small town of Gads Hill, population 15. They were again dressed in KKK masks and sent shock waves through the small community. They lit a bonfire within sight of the station platform and had one member to the gang stand on the platform holding a red signal lamp. The train did not normally stop at the Gads Hill station but was scheduled to do so that day in order for State Rep. L.M. Farris to meet up with his son. As the train neared the station, the conductor jumped off the train to see what was going on, he was seized and the train was switched to a siding. The gang members boarded the train, raided the express/mail car and then systematically relieved the passengers of their jewelry and currency.

_flossy fact: They spared any man who had calloused hands, because they didn't wish to steal from the working class. All except one woman, who had $400 in gold coins, were also spared.

4. The Wilcox Robbery
The Wild Bunch, with infamous members Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, went out with a bang for their final train robbery. On June 2, 1899 around 2:30 AM, the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 was flagged down by two men with warning lights. The men overtook the first engine and made the engineer disconnect the second part of the train, which had its own engine. Then they blew up a small wooden bridge after the first engine had passed over, to prevent anyone in the second section from following. Forcing the trainmen over to the mail car to begin their raid, three of the bandits blew the door off of the car with dynamite. Not satisfied with what they found, the gang continued on to the express car. There they found the express car messenger. When he refused to open the door for the robbers, they opened it themselves with more dynamite. The blast left the messenger stunned and unable to relay the combination, so they blew the safe open with more dynamite, using such an excessive amount of the "giant powder" that the entire car was destroyed. They escaped on horses they had hidden nearby with over $50,000 in loot.

5. The Largest Train Robbery in the United States
On June 14, 1924, the Newton gang stole the largest sum ever from a United States train. The Newton boys, all brothers, were known for never killing anyone. They also never stole from women and children. Still, they were still the most successful bank robbers in the United States. For this big heist, they recruited postal inspector William J. Fahy, one of the best investigators at the time, to help them plan it. Also in their employ were several local gangsters. Instead of horses, the Newton gang boasted fast cars. Taking hold of a mail train in Roundout, IL, just outside of Chicago, using homemade tear gas bombs of formaldehyde, the gang rounded up $3 million dollars in cash, jewelry and securities. One of the gang members accidentally shot Dock Newton during the heist. This slip up led to the capture of the gang members. Within 7 months of the heist, all suspects were apprehended and sentenced.

6. The Great Gold Robbery
The Wild West was not the only stage for train robberies. In 1855, a train carrying gold bars from London to Paris was the victim of an "invisible" robbery. The gold was stored sealed, bound by iron bars, and secured in double key safes. The highly guarded bars were weighed after completing its traverse of the English Channel via boat, but two of the safes weighed slightly more and one slightly less than the original weight. In Paris, it was discovered that the gold had been replaced by lead shots. Masterminds William Pierce and Edward Agar, with the help of a railway clerk, had boarded the train with carpet bags and shoulder satchels full of lead shots. They disembarked in Dover with £12,000 worth of gold. That would be worth approximately $1,253,962 today. All were quickly caught and jailed.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/25825/10-great-train-robberies

 

[Jimklag]

Every time a see a story about a train robbery I think of, "Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

 

[USS ALASKA]

Every time a see a story about a train robbery I think of, "Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

So many great lines in that movie...one could almost quote the whole script...

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[USS ALASKA]

The Reno Gang - 1866

The Reno Gang was the first "Brotherhood of Outlaws" in the United States. They terrorized the Midwest for several years and inspired the creation of a host of other similar gangs who copied their crimes, leading to several decades of high-profile train robberies. Their gang attracted several new members after the end of the war. They started by robbing and murdering travelers in Jackson County and began to branch out to other counties, where they raided merchants and communities.

They planned to rob their first train near Seymour; the town was an important rail hub at that time. On the evening of October 6, 1866, John Reno, Sim Reno, and Frank Sparkes boarded an Ohio and Mississippi Railway train as it started to leave the Seymour depot. They broke into the express car, restrained the guard, and broke open a safe containing approximately $16,000. From the moving train, the three men pushed a larger safe over the side, where the rest of the gang was waiting. Unable to open the second safe, the gang fled as a large posse approached.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno_Gang

On this day in 1866, the Reno gang carries out the first robbery of a moving train in the U.S., making off with over $10,000 from an Ohio & Mississippi train in Jackson County, Indiana. Prior to this innovation in crime, holdups had taken place only on trains sitting at stations or freight yards.

This new method of sticking up moving trains in remote locations low on law enforcement soon became popular in the American West, where the recently constructed transcontinental and regional railroads made attractive targets. With the western economy booming, trains often carried large stashes of cash and precious minerals. The sparsely populated landscape provided bandits with numerous isolated areas perfect for stopping trains, as well as plenty of places to hide from the law. Some gangs, like Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, found robbing trains so easy and lucrative that, for a time, they made it their criminal specialty. Railroad owners eventually got wise and fought back, protecting their trains' valuables with large safes, armed guards and even specially fortified boxcars. Consequently, by the late 1800s, robbing trains had turned into an increasingly tough and dangerous job.

As for the Reno gang, which consisted of the four Reno brothers and their associates, their reign came to an end in 1868 when they all were finally captured after committing a series of train robberies and other criminal offenses. In December of that year, a mob stormed the Indiana jail where the bandits were being held and meted out vigilante justice, hanging brothers Frank, Simeon and William Reno (their brother John had been caught earlier and was already serving time in a different prison) and fellow gang member Charlie Anderson.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-u-s-train-robbery

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[archieclement]

I assume they mean peacetime or civilian robbery, for example "on 1st Oct (1864) the guerrillas said to have been the Hughes band, numbering it is alleged not more then a dozen, captured 3 trains on a point of the Hannibal-St Jo three miles west of Monroe City, robbed one and burned two. Four coaches of the train No 1, Conductor Towner, going west became derailed at that point. The passengers were taken in the baggage cars to Hunnewell, where train No 2, conductor Harris was met coming east. Of this train Towner borrowed two coaches and proceeded west with his passengers in safety

Harris came on to where the four cars had been thrown off, found that the guerrillas had came out of the brush and burned them and were waiting for him. They captured his train, robbed the express safe, the train men and the passangers of $20,000 and then let them proceed. A freight train under conductor Angell soon after came in from the west and was robbed and burned by the same party"

 

[mofederal]

Yes, the Reno Brothers from Indiana. They paid for their crimes in the old American way vigilante justice. Trials, we don't need no stinking trials.

 

[nitrofd]

And least we not forget the original silent movie "The Great Train Robbery"."

 

[Stiles/Akin]

Then there is the Great Locomotive Chase

 

[JOHN42768]

aka the Andrews Raid

 

[diane]

Since we have the first great train robbery in the West, it's only fitting we should have the last! That took place in 1923, at Tunnel 13 on the Siskiyou Pass between Yreka, Ca and Ashland, Or. The DeAutremont brothers, twins Roy and Ray and little brother Hugh, decided to steal $40,000 from the Southern Pacific train called the Oregon-California Express. It was headed for San Francisco. The Siskiyous are big mountains and it was mandatory to slow the train down, test the brakes, then begin the descent into California - and this took place at Tunnel 13. So far so good. The brothers got the train to stop using sawed off shotguns, and made their way to the mail car. The postal clerk, Elvyn Daugherty, saw them coming and locked the mail car door. However, the DeAutremonts were prepared and blew the door with a LARGE amount of dynamite - blowing up poor Elvyn all to smithereens and incinerating all the money contained in the safe. Well, you can't leave any witnesses to your stupidity! So, the brothers shot the engineer, the brakeman and the fireman. Four murders, no money.

But, it did spark the largest manhunt in US history, which included the Oregon National Guard and posses from all over Northern California. It also contained some criminology firsts. It was the first time planes were used to scan the area for the killers. They also submitted forensic evidence to the very interesting "Wizard of Berkeley", Professor Edward Oscar Heinrich. At that time, the only crime labs in existence were in Europe, but the prof was able to analyze and catalog the evidence with an accuracy that would do any CIS lab today proud. It became the largest and most expensive manhunt in US history but four years later the DeAutremonts were corralled, tried and sentenced to life in Oregon State Prison at Salem. This lenient sentence was decried at the time but these things have a way of getting around to their own punishments. The twins died in 1983, one had had a lobotomy while in prison and was mostly a vegetable. The younger brother was paroled in 1958 and died shortly thereafter of cancer.

Here is a picture of Tunnel 13 in the Siskiyou Pass:

Here are the DeAutremonts:

Here is the train:

(Yes, Butch...you used enough dynamite!!)

And here is the remarkable Edison of Crime Detection:

Here's the link to the whole story!

http://ijpr.org/post/tunnel-13-how-...ve-americas-last-great-train-robbery#stream/1

 

[saddlebum92]

And least we not forget the original silent movie "The Great Train Robbery"."

That flick had a number of notables in it, not the least of whom was Quahnah Parker, the Last Comanche WarLeader, and Broncho Billy Anderson. Both were extras. Quanah went back home, But Broncho Billy went on to be the first real Movie Cowboy.

 

[saddlebum92]

Great Train Robberies

1. The First Train Robbery in the West
Although Jesse James popularly gets credit for committing the first train robbery, the following robbery actually predates his: On November 5, 1870, just west of Reno, NV, a Central Pacific passenger train was overtaken by a gang of robbers who'd been tipped off that the train was carrying gold worth $60,000. The conductor was forced to apply the brakes and separate the engine, tender, baggage and express cars from the rest of the train. The engineer was then taken to the express car to request admittance. When the door opened, the expressman was greeted three sawed off shotguns. By prying open boxes in the express car, the gang was able to uncover $41,000 in gold coins. The spoils weighed over 150 lbs. However, the robbers inadvertently left behind $8,000 in silver, $15,000 in hidden gold bars, and piles of bank drafts. (Keep in mind that an acre of land cost about $5 at the time.) All of the robbers were apprehended or killed before being able to enjoy their bounty.


2. Jesse James' first Train Robbery
The notorious gang leader, Jesse James, is a Wild West legend. He and his colleagues the James-Younger gang, had already established a local reputation for crime before the legendary robbery. Former confederate guerillas, the gang dressed in KKK garb. They then loosened part of the track and attached a rope to it near the Adair, Iowa station. As the Rock Island train approached the station on July 21, 1873, the engineer saw the rope tied to the rail. He attempted to back the train up to avoid the hazard, but was unsuccessful. The engine, tender, and baggage cars were derailed and the engineer killed. Jesse and his brother Frank, approached the expressman with cocked 44's. The James-Younger gang rode off with nearly $3,000—worth about $51,000 today.

3. Gads Hill Missouri Great Train Robbery
Jesse James may not have been the first to rob a train in the West, but he was the first to rob one in Missouri. On January 31, 1874, the James-Younger gang rode into the small town of Gads Hill, population 15. They were again dressed in KKK masks and sent shock waves through the small community. They lit a bonfire within sight of the station platform and had one member to the gang stand on the platform holding a red signal lamp. The train did not normally stop at the Gads Hill station but was scheduled to do so that day in order for State Rep. L.M. Farris to meet up with his son. As the train neared the station, the conductor jumped off the train to see what was going on, he was seized and the train was switched to a siding. The gang members boarded the train, raided the express/mail car and then systematically relieved the passengers of their jewelry and currency.

_flossy fact: They spared any man who had calloused hands, because they didn't wish to steal from the working class. All except one woman, who had $400 in gold coins, were also spared.

4. The Wilcox Robbery
The Wild Bunch, with infamous members Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, went out with a bang for their final train robbery. On June 2, 1899 around 2:30 AM, the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 was flagged down by two men with warning lights. The men overtook the first engine and made the engineer disconnect the second part of the train, which had its own engine. Then they blew up a small wooden bridge after the first engine had passed over, to prevent anyone in the second section from following. Forcing the trainmen over to the mail car to begin their raid, three of the bandits blew the door off of the car with dynamite. Not satisfied with what they found, the gang continued on to the express car. There they found the express car messenger. When he refused to open the door for the robbers, they opened it themselves with more dynamite. The blast left the messenger stunned and unable to relay the combination, so they blew the safe open with more dynamite, using such an excessive amount of the "giant powder" that the entire car was destroyed. They escaped on horses they had hidden nearby with over $50,000 in loot.

5. The Largest Train Robbery in the United States
On June 14, 1924, the Newton gang stole the largest sum ever from a United States train. The Newton boys, all brothers, were known for never killing anyone. They also never stole from women and children. Still, they were still the most successful bank robbers in the United States. For this big heist, they recruited postal inspector William J. Fahy, one of the best investigators at the time, to help them plan it. Also in their employ were several local gangsters. Instead of horses, the Newton gang boasted fast cars. Taking hold of a mail train in Roundout, IL, just outside of Chicago, using homemade tear gas bombs of formaldehyde, the gang rounded up $3 million dollars in cash, jewelry and securities. One of the gang members accidentally shot Dock Newton during the heist. This slip up led to the capture of the gang members. Within 7 months of the heist, all suspects were apprehended and sentenced.

6. The Great Gold Robbery
The Wild West was not the only stage for train robberies. In 1855, a train carrying gold bars from London to Paris was the victim of an "invisible" robbery. The gold was stored sealed, bound by iron bars, and secured in double key safes. The highly guarded bars were weighed after completing its traverse of the English Channel via boat, but two of the safes weighed slightly more and one slightly less than the original weight. In Paris, it was discovered that the gold had been replaced by lead shots. Masterminds William Pierce and Edward Agar, with the help of a railway clerk, had boarded the train with carpet bags and shoulder satchels full of lead shots. They disembarked in Dover with £12,000 worth of gold. That would be worth approximately $1,253,962 today. All were quickly caught and jailed.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/25825/10-great-train-robberies

The Train Robbery west of Reno was in Verdi (Verd- Eye, not Verd- ee). The little town on the banks of the Truckee River supplied timber and cut lumber to the Railroad for years, and was also a Stage Stop on the Henness Pass route over the Sierras. The chief bandit was captured, imprisoned, reverted to that trade upon release, and was shot dead during another Robbery.

 

[Bee]

The Train Robbery west of Reno was in Verdi (Verd- Eye, not Verd- ee). The little town on the banks of the Truckee River supplied timber and cut lumber to the Railroad for years, and was also a Stage Stop on the Henness Pass route over the Sierras. The chief bandit was captured, imprisoned, reverted to that trade upon release, and was shot dead during another Robbery.

Know the area well -- I pass through it on Train #5 every few weeks!

 

[GS]

The post war years provided a perfect storm, an opportunity: the locomotives became plentiful, the people poor and outlook bleak, especially in the South. The wandering, despot life of guerrillas took a new twist toward continuance in crime.

 

[diane]

The post war years provided a perfect storm, an opportunity: the locomotives became plentiful, the people poor and outlook bleak, especially in the South. The wandering, despot life of guerrillas took a new twist toward continuance in crime.

There's sure a lot of truth in that. Think that was Jesse's problem - saw too much too young and just couldn't wind down from the war - sure didn't trust the winners!

However, the first train robbery - the one that set the standard for other train robberies as well as Hollywood reproductions - was the North Bend, Ohio railroad robbery that took place just after Lee surrendered at Appomattox. The Ohio and Mississippi train, out of Cincinnati bound to St Louis was derailed quite neatly near North Bend, Ohio. A single track bar was removed and all the cars tipped over except the passenger ones. 15 to 20 masked men boarded the train, robbed everybody and blew the safe - got 30,000 in government bills plus some. They took skiffs and crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky. Federal authorities went after them because the Civil War was still on - they were never caught. (They did stop to party hearty in Verona, Kentucky. Whiskey, women, horses - woo-hoo!) So...there's money in them thar trains and a good chance you can get away with it!

 

[kevikens]

If the original image is from the 1903 movie'The Great Train Robbery' those tracks are in the wild and wooly state of northern NJ. Look at that heavy rail and manicured roadbed of gravel and the extra wide right of way clearance. Looks like the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western (which I don't think went any farther west than Buffalo, NY) rather than, say the ATSF or CP. By the way my father-in-law worked a Railway Postal car for the Pennsy and the Reading. Their employees were required to wear handguns (.38 Smith and Wesson revolvers) as the cars carried cash back in the 1930's when he worked on the railroad.

 

[O' Be Joyful]

Since we have the first great train robbery in the West, it's only fitting we should have the last! That took place in 1923, at Tunnel 13 on the Siskiyou Pass between Yreka, Ca and Ashland, Or. The DeAutremont brothers, twins Roy and Ray and little brother Hugh, decided to steal $40,000 from the Southern Pacific train called the Oregon-California Express. It was headed for San Francisco. The Siskiyous are big mountains and it was mandatory to slow the train down, test the brakes, then begin the descent into California - and this took place at Tunnel 13. So far so good. The brothers got the train to stop using sawed off shotguns, and made their way to the mail car. The postal clerk, Elvyn Daugherty, saw them coming and locked the mail car door. However, the DeAutremonts were prepared and blew the door with a LARGE amount of dynamite - blowing up poor Elvyn all to smithereens and incinerating all the money contained in the safe. Well, you can't leave any witnesses to your stupidity! So, the brothers shot the engineer, the brakeman and the fireman. Four murders, no money.

But, it did spark the largest manhunt in US history, which included the Oregon National Guard and posses from all over Northern California. It also contained some criminology firsts. It was the first time planes were used to scan the area for the killers. They also submitted forensic evidence to the very interesting "Wizard of Berkeley", Professor Edward Oscar Heinrich. At that time, the only crime labs in existence were in Europe, but the prof was able to analyze and catalog the evidence with an accuracy that would do any CIS lab today proud. It became the largest and most expensive manhunt in US history but four years later the DeAutremonts were corralled, tried and sentenced to life in Oregon State Prison at Salem. This lenient sentence was decried at the time but these things have a way of getting around to their own punishments. The twins died in 1983, one had had a lobotomy while in prison and was mostly a vegetable. The younger brother was paroled in 1958 and died shortly thereafter of cancer.

You stirred up a faint memory for me Diane about the Newton Boys. I think they may be in the running for the last train stick up in Texas in 1924. EDIT: Oops robbery was outside Chicago. Missing money is rumored in Tx.

The Newton Boys are famously known for carrying out America's biggest train robbery on June 12th, 1924. Not only did they make history by stealing more than three million dollars on this one train heist, but this sealed the Newton Boys to become remembered as the most successful bank and train robbers in U.S. history.

In the aftermath of this large train heist, however, some of the stolen loot, around 100,000 dollars of it, became lost. It is believed to have been buried somewhere Northwest of San Antonio, Texas, and remains there yet to this day. Will it ever be found?

Carefully planned out by Willis, Joe was unable to say 'no' to helping him with a bank robbery. And so with the aid of Brent Glassock, Willis and Joe began their spree of notorious robberies. Doc and Jess Newton, two more brothers joined up with this team soon after. And over the course of the next few years (1920 to 1924), the Newton Gang, headed by Willis Newton, robbed over eighty banks and six trains.

http://mysteriouswritings.com/the-l...wton-boys-and-americas-biggest-train-robbery/
​

And I'm fairly confident that Joe Newton was the only train bandit to sit down with Johnny.

 

[Patrick H]

You stirred up a faint memory for me Diane about the Newton Boys. I think they may be in the running for the last train stick up in Texas in 1924. EDIT: Oops robbery was outside Chicago. Missing money is rumored in Tx.

The Newton Boys are famously known for carrying out America's biggest train robbery on June 12th, 1924. Not only did they make history by stealing more than three million dollars on this one train heist, but this sealed the Newton Boys to become remembered as the most successful bank and train robbers in U.S. history.

In the aftermath of this large train heist, however, some of the stolen loot, around 100,000 dollars of it, became lost. It is believed to have been buried somewhere Northwest of San Antonio, Texas, and remains there yet to this day. Will it ever be found?

Carefully planned out by Willis, Joe was unable to say 'no' to helping him with a bank robbery. And so with the aid of Brent Glassock, Willis and Joe began their spree of notorious robberies. Doc and Jess Newton, two more brothers joined up with this team soon after. And over the course of the next few years (1920 to 1924), the Newton Gang, headed by Willis Newton, robbed over eighty banks and six trains.

http://mysteriouswritings.com/the-l...wton-boys-and-americas-biggest-train-robbery/
​

And I'm fairly confident that Joe Newton was the only train bandit to sit down with Johnny.

I am so glad this link is here. I've seen this clip numerous times. It's great.

 

[jackt62]

So I wonder when the last train robbery took place in the United States or was it that one in 1924?

 

[O' Be Joyful]

You stirred up a faint memory for me Diane about the Newton Boys. I think they may be in the running for the last train stick up in Texas in 1924. EDIT: Oops robbery was outside Chicago. Missing money is rumored in Tx.

The Newton Boys are famously known for carrying out America's biggest train robbery on June 12th, 1924. Not only did they make history by stealing more than three million dollars on this one train heist, but this sealed the Newton Boys to become remembered as the most successful bank and train robbers in U.S. history.

In the aftermath of this large train heist, however, some of the stolen loot, around 100,000 dollars of it, became lost. It is believed to have been buried somewhere Northwest of San Antonio, Texas, and remains there yet to this day. Will it ever be found?

Carefully planned out by Willis, Joe was unable to say 'no' to helping him with a bank robbery. And so with the aid of Brent Glassock, Willis and Joe began their spree of notorious robberies. Doc and Jess Newton, two more brothers joined up with this team soon after. And over the course of the next few years (1920 to 1924), the Newton Gang, headed by Willis Newton, robbed over eighty banks and six trains.

http://mysteriouswritings.com/the-l...wton-boys-and-americas-biggest-train-robbery/
​

And I'm fairly confident that Joe Newton was the only train bandit to sit down with Johnny.

Of course they had to make a movie about it. Starring Matthew McConaughey...Alright ladies let's just settle down here.