Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1894-10-13
TRAIN ROBBERY.
was astounded this me

Alexandria was astounded this morn
ing to learn that seven masked men
had held up train within few miles
of this city, had blown the side of the
Adams express car out with dynamite
and had captured sum supposed to be
in the neighborhood of $4,000 or
$3.50, 900, and had escaped on the en-
CINE with their booty, turning the en-
CINE loose with the throttle wide open,
to wreak its will upon any passing
train. The details of the story are as
follows:
The northbound express train on the
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Poto-
mac Railroad, leaving Richmond at
o'clock last night, was held up near
AQUA Creek, below Brooks Station,
and Wide Water, about $50 o'clock
last night, and the express messenger
robbed of large sum of money-said
to be $4,000. Seven masked men
committed the deed, and after securing
the money in the Adams express car,
they compelled the engine crew to I'M
couple the locomotive, jumped aboard,
and made good their escape in the d.
rection of the Potomac river, where it
is supposed they had a boat in waiting
to take them to the Maryland side.
1t is not known at what point the
robbers boarded the train, and the first
intimation anybody had that trouble
was brewing was when two men
Jumped from the tender down into the
cab, and, leveling revolvers at the en-
gineer and fireman, ordered them to
stop the train.
The engineer hesitated for an instant
but soon stopped the train. The fire.
man and engineer were compelled to
leave the engine and sit on the bank
alongside the track. The express car
was then entered, the messengers COW
cred with pistols and the safe blown
open and robbed.
After securing the plumber the rob-
bers compelled the fireman, who is a
mulatto, to uncouple the engine. The
gang then boarded the engine and left
the train and its excited passengers
standing on the main track.
The robbers are supposed to have
left the engine before it passed Wide
Water, and the train dispatcher at that
station, comprehending that something
was wrong, telegraphed ahead to Guam
tico to look out for wild engine. A
switch was thrown just outside Of
Quantico, and when the engine arrived
it was thrown over on a switch, crash
ed into a number of empty freight cars,
badly wrecking them. The engine was
thrown on its side and is wreck.
The Atlanta special was standing on
the main track at Quantico and mar
rowly escaped being struck by the run
away engine. A brakeman had just
thrown the switch as the wild engine
dashed into the yards and out the side
tracks into the freight cars. Tho rail
road company has offered $1,000 re-
ward for the arrest of any one of the
robbers.
Express Messenger J. S. Crutchfeld,
who had charge of the express car,
went on through to New York last
night. He made statement to the
conductor and members of the train
crew. He said he thought the thieves
got about $4,000.
"But one robher,n said the messenger,
"entered the car. He was of heavy
build and dressed like a farmer. He
had red handkerchief over the lower
part of his face. When the train was
stopped I opened the door of my car.
The robber fired and shot at me. /
lodged back and closed the door. He
called, Open that door, open that
door or I'll blow the whole car to pieces
with dynamite Then he threw a
stick of dynamite. 1t struck the door
and shattered it and the casing. The
force knocked me off my feet. then
opened the door. One robber came in,
and made me open the safe. He took
everything. There was one package
which he must have thought contained
only papers for he threw it into the box.
1t contained sc, 900. Then he said, Open
that other safe
"'That is simply deadhead safe l
said.
"'The h it u.s. he roared, SHOW
me your waybill for it,
II started to get the bill, and he said,
Keep your hands up. Show me the
paper. TIL get it,
HE looked at the bill and was salts
fed that the second safe contained moth
ing, which was true.
"The man was very cool all the time.
We had seven or eight through express
pouches, each containing packages of
money; how much, can't guess. The
man cut small slit in each pouch and
took every package"
Frank Dellager, the engineer who
left the train at Quantico, lives in Rich
mond, and will be able to give good
descriptions of the robbers. The engi-
neer aud Gremen sat on the bank on
one side of the train during the whole
robbery, and were not ten feet
from two or three of the robbers, as
they fred shots into the air. The man
who entered the Car seemed to be
the leader, although man on the out
side had q good deal to say about
things. This man was tall, and ran
| about good deal. He drove Charley,
the porter, who rushed ahead at first,
thinking that tramps were shooting,
back into the sleeper, and fired two
shots at him. This tall man also fired
the shot into the express car, and after
the robbery had been completed, which
took a good twenty minutes, gave the
word, go ahead with the engine"
The night was not dark and the
place was q deep cut, just the place