When one conjures up fanciful notions of Wild West lawlessness, the image that comes to mind is that of movie scenes of daring train robberies by gangs of robbers on horseback. As they all journey into Mexico in search of the hidden gold they are followed closely by an unnamed Pinkerton agent who is working for Wells Fargo. Perhaps it was the ghost of Jesse James, acting to ensure his legacy would never be forgotten. They fired their guns to stop him, but only succeeded in nicking his horse slightly on the hip. This tale comes with a bit of bad timing, too. 21 & over 9:00 P.M. FREE SHOW! Shadows cast from the hotel towards the water tower. Located in: Niagara Falls, New York, United States. El Saltito waterfall, Nombre de Dios, Durango, Mexico. The Sundance Kids reputation grew to mythic proportions in part because reporters often confused him with his Wild Bunch cohort Harvey Logan, who was dubbed Kid Curry and was responsible for killing at least nine law enforcement officers in five different shootings. 2. And yes, they were all arrested. In the wee hours of the morning on the 29th, the mercury dipped blow 16 degrees below and the stretch of the Milk River that ran through town froze over, as did the Missouri River, 45 miles to the south, for the first time that winter. This time, unlike Sundance and his pals nine years earlier, the holdup crew behaved like professionals, not amateurs, and rode away with $40,000 in unsigned banknotes. hard work, and had turned to thievin'. Thomas, Kevin (February 7, 1973). @JarrettStepman | Elmer McCurdy was not. FREE Live Music by Tylor & the Train Robbers. Today, that would be a haul worth around $1,460,000. The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. By the turn of the 20th century, most of the famous train robbers, including Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and the other members of the Wild Bunch gang, had been captured, killed, or were no longer operating in the United States. There are no mountains in the area and the nearest desert is several hundred miles to the west. According to employee lists, one of his co-workers was Harvey Logan, a local rancher and rustler also known as Kid Curry. says Lane. / It was the Southern Pacific Train No. However, once they cross the boarder they discover they are being . Not only that, but the railroad company is considering diverting its trains around Los Angeles to avoid the rampant theft. Moments later as Mrs. Lowe and Lane walk towards Grady & Calhoun, Mrs. Lowe and Lane cast shadows towards the rail track and the water tower (left to right across the screen). Join the millions of people who benefit from The Daily Signals fair, accurate, trustworthy reporting with direct access to: Dont have time to read the Washington Post or New York Times? At that time, express cars owned by Wells Fargo and the American Express Company carried financial instruments, currency, precious metals, and other desirable goods targeted by criminals. He is thoroughly soaked top to bottom, including the back of his shirt sleeves and the whole of his shirt front. Logan stayed behind when Butch and Sundance high-tailed it to South America in 1901 and soon after led a dj vu heist of the Great Northern. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. They started out robbing stores, but once the various brothers all managed to not be in jail at the same time, they formed a gang and went for bigger targets: trains and banks. $500,000 worth of gold would therefore weigh about 750 kg or 1,660 pounds avoirdupois - far too much for one man to shift or for one mule to carry, as depicted in different scenes. He was born in 1880, and headed West to get involved in some heists that, unfortunately for him, turned more into hijinks. They demanded the mail sacks be thrown off the train to their waiting getaway car, scoring around $3 million. As soon as the last car cleared the gap, the bandits dynamited the bridge, stranding the approaching second train on the other side. The outlaws also promptly left Malta, but the Sundance Kid and Bass did not make it far. He was also identified, and he was shot (again) and killed just three days later. It seems as though the train carrying the $75k passed sometime between 12 and 24 hours later they'd robbed the wrong train. The station about 50 miles from Flagstaff was in an area of Arizona where, well, the weather just didn't cooperate. The Great Northern Railway, near Malta, Montana is at the center of this story. Some even added cars with armed men and horses who could be deployed to chase down any bandits who robbed the train. However, Kilpatrick, riding in the passenger car, noticed the three men heading forward with their guns drawn, and he fired a couple of warning shots at them. According to Union Pacific Railroad's senior director of public affairs, Lupe Valdez, from October 2020 to October 2021, train robberies shot up by 356%. It's no wonder, then, that they were tempting targets for the blossoming nation's ne'er do-wells. There's been a lot of train robberies in American history, but one of the most famous is likely the robbery of the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. The gang had been led to believe it would contain a large cache of gold bullion, but upon opening it they found only a meager $2,000. Dark close-fitting pants with blue overalls. One of those masked men was Big Jack Davis, who wasn't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill robber he was one of Virginia City's most upstanding and respected businessmen, who just happened to moonlight as a stagecoach robber. / Choteau County, Mont. After forcing the driver to move the remaining cars to a rendezvous point a mile up the track, the thieves formed a human chain and quickly transferred 120 bags of moneymost of them containing bills set to be removed from circulationinto three waiting vehicles. In 1912, two men decided to rob the No. When they hopped on board the train in Dryden, Texas, Kilpatrick was coming off a 10-year stint in Atlanta and either he'd lost his edge in prison, or men on the outside had gotten a little tougher. The environmental and financial costs of Mexico's Maya Train tourism project are already massive, but authorities revealed another, unexpected cost of President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador's pet project on Tuesday. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Lowe wants to tell the railroad where to find the half-million U.S. dollars in gold her late husband, Matt, stole during a train robbery, and clear the family name for her son. Rod Taylor finally got to work with John Wayne after being considered for " Rio Bravo (1959)," walking out on " Circus World (1964)," and being passed over for " The War Wagon (1967)." In later years Taylor would claim to have been good friends with Wayne, although others who knew the older actor have doubted this. After gathering information on the train schedule, James and his gang loosened a section of track on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. Also suggested for further reading: The Train Robbery Era: An Encyclopedic History, by Richard Patterson. Malta today is still in cattle country, and the train still rumbles through town on a regular basis, although it is now part of the Burlington Northern Railroad. Federal Bureau of Investigation Train robberies resulted in considerable loss of life and property, disrupted public transportation, and hindered the movement of people and goods across the United States. Union Pacific took specific aim at Gascon for creating an environment where the train robbers are quickly back on the street after committing their crimes. Roy Gardner, says Legends of America, was the last of his kind. He spotted Bobs 14-year-old brother Walt out on a knoll and slowly rode over alone. 13 of 13 found this interesting. Thats a big deal for Americans, one with national implications. This two-part tale delivers the true story of the Great Train Robbery of 1963, the biggest one in England's history. Woodside later had to have his arm amputated. The Biden Classified Documents Fiasco: What Do We Know So Far? Eighteen members of Congress sent a Jan. 19 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting that the Justice Department use every tool available to end this type of violence and organized crime.. Shooting the lock would not have caused it to disintegrate. The manhunt for the brothers was massive, and at the forefront was UC Berkeley lecturer Edward Oscar Heinrich. Most rail heists are inspired by blind greed, but many in India saw 1925s Kakori Train Robbery as an act of political protest. It was hit during the night of June 1 to 2, 1899, and the story as it's often told is the heist was pulled off by Butch Cassidy and his gang. The train continued on its regular route, stopping only to telegraph the news of the holdup: Express car on No. A Yavapai County Sheriff called William O'Neill gave chase, and he wasn't about to give up. At first, it seemed as though they'd made a horrible mistake, as the train was outfitted with a safe and secure lock that absolutely couldn't be opened until it reached its destination. This article is adapted from Ernsts latest book (due for release early in 2009) The Sundance Kid: A Family Biography, which expands on her previous work on the Sundance Kid and includes many new finds. It creates anenvironment of lawlessness for organized crime to thrive. Big Springs, Nebraska Train Robbery. She wishes to do so to clear her familys name. Instead Lane convinces her to retrieve the gold so she can collect the $50,000 reward offered by the railroad for its return. There's an old saying: no good deed goes unpunished. Dark complexion, short dark moustache, dark hair. Train Robberies. The Real Story Behind Mall Security Asking Man to Remove Jesus Saves T-shirt, House GOP Eyes Investigation of Big Tech-Aligned Election Grants, Twitter Knew a Democrat Attack on Devin Nunes Was False, but Declined to Debunk It Publicly, Rep. Kevin Hern Stands by Previous Call to Impeach Homeland Security Secretary, Not Just Misinformation: In Emails to White House, Facebook Admits Suppressing Often-True Content on COVID-19 Vaccines, A Legal Immigrants Lament: Bidens Parole Scheme Makes Patsies of Those Who Abide by Law. Free shipping for many products! [W]here is the Justice Department on the California train heists? But the man wasn't actually his brother: he was a guy who sold embalmed corpses to carnival sideshows. Meanwhile, other outlaws realized this train robbing thing was a great idea. The four men were taken to Helena, where the train conductor identified them; they were then moved to Great Falls under extremely heavy guard. 23 out of St. Paul, Minn., made its regular mail and water stop at Malta. As the train began to pull out of town, the conductor noticed Logan loitering on the platform near the baggage car, where he was trying to sneak aboard the tender car. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. As police would later learn, the crime was a carefully planned inside job. Read full review. Everything has to start somewhere, and when it comes to train robberies, the Smithsonian says that all started on October 6, 1866. "Hey, Sam. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out. While the gang initially got away, they were all hunted down and killed over the next 12 years. Roger Ebert. Trivia At about the same time, Sheriff ONeal and Sheriff Hamilton of Cascade County arrested saloonkeeper Alex Black and the Sundance Kid as they boarded an eastbound train just leaving the Malta depot. Smith to open the express car doors and jump out, which they immediately did. The first chance he got, he hit Hobek, and kept hitting him but it only took three blows for his brains to leave his head. Find out where was this action thriller filmed. The year was 1877, and according to South Dakota Public Broadcasting, the Black Hills Bandits hit a Union Pacific train just outside of Ogallala, Nebraska. ", medieval diseases, such as typhoid and tuberculosis, parents showing up at school board meetings, Deep policy understanding from over 100 experts. Police were later called to the scene, where they discovered heaps of evidenceincluding fingerprints on the gangs Monopoly boardthat helped them track down the thieves. According to Union Pacific Railroads senior director of public affairs, Lupe Valdez, from October 2020 to October 2021, train robberies shot up by 356%. Bismil and three other men were later executed by hanging in 1927. While making his comments, Newsom apologized for using the word gangs to describe the gaggles of looters who had committed the robberies. It was nearing midnight when Wells Fargo guards opened the door to a sawed-off shotgun, followed by masked robbers who made short work of collecting the gold and silver. At the time, they mainly delivered packages and bank drafts. Opening scene: "Beats the hell out of me." What do you say? The officers saw they were powerless. Police rounded up his accomplices shortly thereafter. But whats best about it, what makes it worth seeing, is Kennedys visual approach to the subject of John Wayne. Opening scene: Lane, Jesse and others walk from the train in bright sunlight. It was all par for the course on the Left Coast these days, though its a telling glimpse into the mentality that has allowed the Golden State to decay in recent decades. As the train neared the town of Kakori, ten armed revolutionaries led by Ram Prasad Bismil overpowered the guards, hijacked the locomotive and brought all the cars to a screeching halt. Aside from the films engaging storyline and a talented star cast, The Train Robbers shooting location also captured by the attention of many fans. Davis was arrested, served only part of his sentence after turning in a group of prisoners he saw escaping, and was shot and killed in 1877 he had gone back to stagecoaches. One of the outlaws kicked open a wooden box, and they found $60,000 worth of gold coins. According to one newspaper report, Every man in the posse had a Winchester rifle within easy reach and a 45-calibre pistol in his pocket. 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