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10 Most Famous Train Robberies in History

Train robberies were a common nuisance in the past because of slow trains, with the majority of them happening in the American Old West. The main targets for the bandits were trains that carried payroll shipments.

Expressmen used to protect the cargo, and the bandits relied on them to open the safe and provide the goods. It was easier to open the safes and rob the goods in trains because there was no combination lock information.

The invention of dynamite also made it very easy to rob trains. Other than cargo goods, the robbers used to hold passengers at gunpoint and forced them to hand over valuables in the form of jewelry and currency.

Here are the 10 Most Famous Train Robberies in History:

1. The Great Gold Robbery of 1855

Night Photography of a Train. Photo by Luis Leon on

The Great Gold robbery of 1855 took place in the United Kingdom, and France and is one of the most famous train heists. It took place on the night of 15^th May 1855 when the routine shipment of 3 boxes of gold bullion and coins was in transit.

The robbery took place between London Bridge station and Folkestone as the carriage was shipped to 麻豆APP. The robbery was carried out by four men, William Tester and James Burgess, who were employees of the South Eastern Railway. Planners of the robbery were Edward Agar and William Pierce, who was former employee of SER.

The gold held in railway safes had two main keys for opening. These men took wax impressions of the keys and made copies. The robbery took place when Agar was on duty and hid in the guard鈥檚 van.

Safes of 224 pounds (102 kg) of gold valued at 拢12,000 at that time and equivalent to 拢1,193,000 in 2021 were opened and emptied. The robbers alighted at Dover and left the police and railway authorities with no clues on the exact point the heist took place.

Read on 20 Most Famous Train Robberies in the US.

2. The Union Pacific Big Springs Robbery

On 18^th September 1877, the Union Pacific Big Springs robbery took place. The robbery of the Union Pacific train near present-day Big Springs, Nebraska, was carried out by a gang of six outlaws.

Sam Bass led his gang that was famously known as 鈥楤lack Hills Bandits鈥�. In the evening of this night, the six gang members boarded the train at what is now the village of Big Springs, Deuel County, Nebraska.

They proceeded to rob the train of $60,000 in newly minted $20 gold pieces. The gold pieces were being shipped from the San Francisco Mint to a bank in the Eastern United States.

This heist remains the largest single robbery in the history of the Union Pacific Railroad. The gang members were killed in the following days after the robbery.

3. Canyon Diablo Train Robbery

Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Florida. Photo by Joe on

On 20^th March 1889, masked men entered the express car of an Atlantic and Pacific train after it stopped at Canyon Diablo Station. The robbers took a risk of executing the heist, even after a law was passed that train robbery was a capital offense.

From the heist, approximately $1,300 was stolen from the train, but the robbers did not manage to go scot-free. Led by Yavapai County Sheriff Buckley O鈥橬eil, the police went on a 300-miles pursuit and finally captured the offenders. Luckily, they were not taken to the gallows.

4. The Fairbank Train Robbery

This heist took place on the night of 15^th February 1900. Some bandits attempted to hold up a Wells Fargo express car in the town of Fairbank in Arizona.

The five bandits arrived in town and blended in with the crowd, pretending to be drunken cowboys. The bandits made commanded everyone to surrender when the train made a stop.

An officer of the car, Milton, thought it was a joke until the bandits made the same command and shot at his hut. The bandits opened fire when it led to an exchange, leaving two bandits and the officer wounded.

Luckily, the officer managed to hide the key to the safe, making it difficult for the bandits to make away with the goods. However, according to James H. McClintock, the bandits made away with only 17 Mexican pesos.

5. Rogow Raid

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The Rogow raid was a train robbery that took place on 8^th November 1906. This heist was carried out in the village of Rogow near the city of 艁贸d藕, Congress Poland.

The Polish were under the rule of Russians, who oppressed them and imposed heavy taxes on them. 49 members of the 艁贸d藕 branch of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party under Jozef carried out the raid.

These members of COPSP launched an attack on a Russian Empire train and stole money and securities. 37,000 roubles were stolen from the train, among other things.

Also, read 20 Most Famous Train Robbers in the World.

6. The Bezdany Raid

This train raid was carried out on the night of 26/27 September 1908. It was carried out near Vilna on a Russian Empire passenger and mail train, but the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party. They were led by Jozef Pilsudski and 19 others, among them being future politicians and three future prime ministers.

Some of the revolutionaries blended in as passengers and waited for the train to make a stop. They launched an attack and took control of the train, looting a lot.

Jozef led his team to loot about 200,000 Russian roubles, which was priced at 8 million dollars at the price of gold in 2012. The Bezdany raid became one of the most daring and successful train robberies in Eastern Europe.

7. Baxter鈥檚 Curve Train Robbery

Weathered rusty train on railway station near contemporary buildings. Photo by Takeshi Arai on

Also known as the Sanderson Train robbery, Baxter鈥檚 curve train robbery took place in 191w near Sanderson Town, Texas. Ben Kilpatrick and Ol茅 Hobek attempted to rob a Southern Pacific Express car, but they were killed by their hostages.

On 13^th March 1912, the gang of two boarded the train and rode it towards Sanderson. The robbers put on their masks and took the engineer and his crew as hostages.

They then demanded the crew team disconnect the train cars so that they could make way with the valuables. However, one of the hostages, the express manager, hit Ol茅 with an ice mallet and killed him instantly.

Ben was then shot in the head as he grew impatient waiting for his accomplice to return. Later on, a third accomplice who was an 11-year-old boy was arrested with the getaway horses.

8. The Newton Gang Train Robbery

The Newton gang was a famous outlaw gang of the early 20^th century that boasted of major success in train and bank robberies. They claimed a total of six confirmed train robberies.

The fame of the Newton gang train robberies was known from 1919 to 1924. One of their famous heists was in the 1924 train robbery near Rondout, Illinois, which was the world鈥檚 largest at the time.

9. The Great Train Robbery

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This is one of the greatest train robberies, where 拢2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London was stolen. In the early hours of 8^th August 1963, the gang of at least 15 people led by Bruce Reynolds launched the attack.

After carefully planning for the heist based on inside information from an individual, the gang made away with over 拢2.6 million, which is equivalent to 拢58 million today. There were no casualties from this heist, though the train driver suffered serious head injuries.

The gang hid at Leatherslade Farm, where police found their Hideout and incriminating evidence. Most of the gang was arrested, and the ringleaders were handed up to 30 years of prison time.

10. The Sallins Train Robbery

This train robbery took place in Ireland on 31^st March 1976. The Cork to Dublin mail train was robbed near Sallins in County Kildare.

It is believed that approximately 拢200,000 was stolen from the train, with five members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party being involved. The five were arrested in connection with the robbery.

Read on 10 Most Famous Robberies in the US.