GREAT TRAIN ROBBERIES

Hardback. New Edition with new material. Life was cheap and often brief on the frontiers of the Old West. From 1870 when the first robbery occurred on the Central Pacific Railroad, down to 1933 when a lone bandit held up the Sunset Limited and got shot for his pains, millions of dollars in gold, silver, currency and valuables were rifled from mail cars by desperadoes. In fact, train robbery in America at one time became almost a regional sport. In spite of the anxious efforts of the railroads, the police and the gun-toting public, these attacks were often successful. Many train men and passengers lost their lives when robbers blasted the mail cars, or perished in the ensuing fracas. Exciting chases and sensational trials usually followed. The author surveys this fascinating era in detail. A book far more than a mere collection of case histories, but a demonstration of how the art of train robbery developed and why. The author brings to life some 20 of the most famous train robberies up to and including the most 'recent' and greatest of all time, when two and a half million pounds were stolen from the Glasgow to London mail train which was held up on August 8, 1963 in Buckinghamshire. With Index. 317pp. 8vo. h/back. Vg.…