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Railroad Criminals Click here to read more on Old West Train Robbers and Railroad Serial Killers |
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The
rail yard can be a dangerous place. These or just a small fraction of
the weapons that have been taken off of hobos, transients, and other
criminals caught trespassing on railroad property.
(Courtesy of Paul Miller) |
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Mugshot
photo of Angel Maturino Resendez, AKA: Rafeal Ramirez or The
Railroad Killer.
Caught in 1999, Resendez killed 9 people. Tracked down and arrested by Texas Ranger Drew Carter, Angel M. Resendez surrendered himself to Ranger Carter on the US/Mexico border in El Paso, TX. Resendez was executed in Huntsville, TX in July of 2006 after being found guilty and sentenced to death. |
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A Railroad Special Agent conducts a high-risk arrest on a suspect found in a "hobo camp" on railroad property. Often times, the individuals found in these camps have warrants and are running from the law. |
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June 9, 1999 $60,000 Cash Reward for information leading to the arrest of Rafael Resendez-Ramriz Flight to avoid prosecution, Burglary- forced entry, and is a suspect wanted for questioning in several homicides Investigating Agencies, FBI and the Harris County Sheriff's Department |
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$15,900 Reward for information leading to
the arrest of guilty men who robbed train in Sisklyou Mountains of
Oregon and murdered three trainmen No date on poster Southern Pacific Railroad Chief Special Agent D.O'Connell |
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$1000 Reward
For information leading to the arrest of each person participating in the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe train robbery September 28, 1921 near Edmond, Oklahoma |
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Well Fargo Wanted Poster For the arrest and conviction of George Gates, Edward Vernon Gates, and James Arnet who are responsible for the robbery of the Southern Pacific No.5 Oregon Express in Copley Station, Shasta County, California on April 5, 1904 and for the murder of the messenger clerk Reward is $850 on each man. $300 from the State of California, $300 from Wells Fargo, and $250 from the Southern Pacific Railroad. |
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$1000 Reward
For information leading to the arrest and conviction of parties responsible for the disconnecting and derailment of The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Train No. Six between Oklahoma City and Britton, Oklahoma June 2, 1925 |
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$200 Reward
For the arrest and detention of former employee Paul Eugene Stufflebeam who absconded with funds from the American Railway Express Company in Foyil, Oklahoma Reward offered from Kansas City, Missouri on February 18, 1919 |
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$9900 Reward For information leading to the arrest and conviction of the three men responsible for taking $16,000 from the Southern Pacific Mail and Express Train No. 36 near McAvoy, Contra Costa County, California $2000 from the United States Post Office, $1000 from the Southern Pacific Railroad, and $300 from the Railway Express Agency. If all are convicted the reward is $9900 Dated June 29, 1929 |
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November 11, 2008, Subject entered a Union Pacific engine in Donaldsonville, LA and tried to rob the engineer. When told he did not have any money this subject started striking the engineer in the face, head, and shoulders. The engineer picked up an air hose wrench to fight off this subject. Suspect has not been identified and investigation is continuing. Sketch completed by internationally known Forensic Artist Lois Gibson |
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Major Derailments Still Unsolved!
by Matthew West
On August 12, 1939 unknown individual(s) deliberately cut a rail
joint at a bridge over the Humboldt River near Harney, Nevada. The
signal wires on the tracks were tampered with to indicate no track
problems. This deadly criminal act caused the passenger train named The
City of San Francisco to derail into the dry riverbed. The crash
resulted in the death of 24 people and 115 injuries. Jointly
operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Southern Pacific
Railroad, and the Union Pacific Railroad, the $2 million streamlined
passenger train symbolized the speed, power, and technology of the
American railroad. While an in-depth investigation was initiated by the
Southern Pacific Railroad, to this date no suspects were ever found and
a $10,000 reward remains in place for the information leading to the
arrest of the suspects.6 In
recent history, AMTRAK’s Sunset
Limited was sabotaged and derailed over a dry creek bed on October
9, 1995, outside of Palo Verde, Arizona. The cause of the derailment was
identical to the City of San Francisco’s derailment 56 years prior. A joint block
from the rail had been removed, causing a large gap for the wheels of
the train to run off of. A wire was used to allow the transmission of
the electrical current to continue through the rail once it was broken.
The wire once again prevented train control signals from alerting trains
that a track problem lay ahead. Unlike
the San Francisco’s derailment, where absolutely no leads were found,
those responsible for the derailment of the Sunset
left several notes at the scene declaring themselves as the “Sons of
the Gastapo” and ranted about the government’s involvement in the
Waco, Texas siege of the Branch Davidian compound and the Ruby Ridge
shootout. To date, the FBI has had no leads in the case and has declared
it an act of domestic terrorism.
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George "Big Nose" Parrott. In 1878, Parrot and his gang murdered two law enforcement officers—Wyoming Deputy Sheriff Robert Widdowfield and Union Pacific Detective Tip Vincent after a botched train robbery. The officers were shot and killed after they followed the outlaws into their camp at Rattlesnake Canyon, near Elk Mountain. |