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Train robbery was a type of robbery, in which the goal was to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains. Trains carrying payroll shipments were a major target. These shipments would be guarded by an expressman whose duty it was to protect the cargo of the "express car". Expressmen, conductors, and other personnel took enormous pride in their duty and had no problem with risking their lives for a shipment. Bandits would rely on the expressman to open the safe and provide the goods. Without the combination required for the combination lock, it was almost impossible to break into the safes. However, the invention of dynamite made it much easier to break into safes and rob the train.

If the outlaw was unsatisfied with the goods, passengers of the train's carriages who were generally unarmed would be held at gunpoint and forced to hand over any valuables they were carrying, usually in the form of jewelry or currency.

Contrary to the method romanticized by Hollywood, outlaws generally never jumped from horseback onto a moving train. Usually, they would either board the train and wait for a good time to initiate the heist, or they would stop or derail the train and then begin the holdup.

Famous train robbers include Bill Miner, Jesse James and Butch Cassidy. James is mistakenly thought to have completed the first successful train robbery in the American West when on July 21, 1873 the James-Younger Gang took US $3,000 from the Rock Island Railroad after derailing it southwest of the town of Adair, IA. However, the first peacetime train robbery actually occurred on October 6, 1866, when robbers boarded the Ohio & Mississippi train shortly after it left Seymour, Indiana. They broke into one safe and tipped the other off the train before jumping off. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency later traced the crime to the Reno Brothers. There was one earlier train robbery in the May of 1865, but because it was committed by armed guerrillas and occurred shortly after the end of the Civil War, it is not considered to be the first peacetime train robbery in the United States.

List of Train Robbers

Frank, Jesse, Sim, and Jack Reno (The Reno Brothers)
Cole, Jim, John, and Bob Younger (Younger Brothers)
The Dalton Gang
The Evans Gang
Bill Miner
Black Jack (Tom) Ketchum
Jesse James and the James Gang
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Wild Bunch
Bill Doolin
Dave Rudabaugh
Little Dick West
George Newton
Tulsa Black Jack
Sam Bass
Charlie Ballard
Peg-Leg Eldridge
Big Nose George Parrot
Quail Hunter Jack Kennedy

Famous Train Robberies

Great Gold Robbery of 1855, London - Paris (1855)
Bezdany raid, Lithuania (1908)
Kakori train robbery, India (1925)
Great Train Robbery, England (1963)

In fiction

The Great Train Robbery, film (1903)
The Great Train Robbery, novel (1975)
The Train Job, an episode of the TV series Firefly that involved a train robbery.

This crime-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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 '''Train robbery''' was a type of [[robbery]], in which the goal was to steal [[money]] or other valuables being carried aboard [[train]]s. Trains carrying [[payroll]] shipments were a major target. These shipments would be guarded by an [[expressman]] whose duty it was to protect the cargo of the "[[Baggage car|express car]]". Expressmen, [[Conductor (transportation)|conductors]], and other [[personnel]] took enormous pride in their duty and had no problem with risking their lives for a shipment. [[Bandit]]s would rely on the expressman to open the [[safe]] and provide the goods. Without the combination required for the [[combination lock]], it was almost impossible to break into the [[safe]]s.  However, the invention of [[dynamite]] made it much easier to break into safes and rob the train.
-If the outlaw was unsatisfied with the goods, passengers of the [[train]]'s [[carriage]]s who generally would be unarmed would be held at [[gun]]point and made to hand over any valuables they were carrying, usually in the form of [[jewelry]] or [[currency]].
+If the outlaw was unsatisfied with the goods, passengers of the [[train]]'s [[carriage]]s who were generally unarmed would be held at [[gun]]point and forced to hand over any valuables they were carrying, usually in the form of [[jewelry]] or [[currency]].
 Contrary to the method romanticized by [[Hollywood]], outlaws generally never jumped from [[horseback]] onto a moving train. Usually, they would either board the train and wait for a good time to initiate the [[Robbery|heist]], or they would stop or [[Derailment|derail]] the train and then begin the holdup.
-Famous train robbers include [[Bill Miner]], [[Jesse James 1847|Jesse James]] and [[Butch Cassidy]].  James is mistakenly thought to have completed the first successful train robbery in the [[American West]] when on [[July 21]], [[1873]] the [[James-Younger Gang]] took US $3,000 from the [[Rock Island Railroad]] after derailing it southwest of the town of [[Adair, IA]]. The derailment killed the engineer.  However, the first peacetime train robbery actually occurred on October 6, 1866, when robbers boarded the Ohio & Mississippi train shortly after it left [[Seymour, Indiana]]. They broke into one safe and tipped the other off the train before themselves jumping off. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency later traced the crime to the [[Reno Brothers]]. There was one earlier train robbery in May of 1865, but because it was committed by armed guerrillas and occurred shortly after the end of the Civil War, it is not considered to be the first peacetime train robbery in the United States.
+Famous train robbers include [[Bill Miner]], [[Jesse James 1847|Jesse James]] and [[Butch Cassidy]].  James is mistakenly thought to have completed the first successful train robbery in the [[American West]] when on [[July 21]], [[1873]] the [[James-Younger Gang]] took US $3,000 from the [[Rock Island Railroad]] after derailing it southwest of the town of [[Adair, IA]]. However, the first peacetime train robbery actually occurred on October 6, 1866, when robbers boarded the Ohio & Mississippi train shortly after it left [[Seymour, Indiana]]. They broke into one safe and tipped the other off the train before jumping off. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency later traced the crime to the [[Reno Brothers]]. There was one earlier train robbery in  the May of 1865, but because it was committed by armed guerrillas and occurred shortly after the end of the Civil War, it is not considered to be the first peacetime train robbery in the United States.
 ==List of Train Robbers==