The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-03-20
HOW GREAT TRAIN
ROBBERY is ACTED
Amusing Hoax Worked by PIC
ture Machine Company
RESULTS ARE THRILLING
Scenes Supposed to Have Taken Place
in the Rockies Are Acted on Rail-
road Fifteen Miles From
New York.

From the New York Times.
"The Great Train Robbery" series of
moving pictures has proved a thriller in
nearly all the larger cities of the United
States. 1t is, however, source of un-
ending wonder how photographs of such
q drama could have been taken in the
wilds of the Rocky Mountains The pic.
ture play begins with scene in the lone
ly telegraph station in which the oper-
ator, receiving train orders, is overcome
with the butt of a pistol, bound hand and
foot, gagged, and left unconscious on the
floor by the desperadoes; proceeds with
the capture of the train, the murder of
the fireman, the killing Of the express
messenger, blowing open of the safe,
hold-up of all the passengers and shoot
ing of one who attempts to escape, and
winds up with horseback ride through
the mountains with the bags of booty,
wild, weird dance in a log cabin, pursuit
by the sheriff and posse, and death of all
the robbers.
There is an immense amount of shoot
ing. The smoke of the pistols is plainly
seen, and men drop dead right and left,
but no sound is heard. Nevertheless,
while witnessing the exhibition, women
put their fingers in their ears to shut out
the noise of the firing! That is pure real
ism.
More than 100000 persons, it is estimat-
ed, have looked at these pictures, and
many have tried to locate the scenes.
Most of the railroads in the far west have
been charged with the hold-up, but if the
or mi CT no of hr
country they would see at a glance that
there is nothing at all like 1t in the
Rockies.
Three commuters on a certain railroad
running out of New York saw the show
recently, and when the robbers fought
the fireman on the tender one remarked:
"By Jove! | knew that fireman. He's on
No. - on our road. I'd recognize him
among a million"
Later. when the engineer was ordered
to get down and uncouple the locomotive,
- our favorite engineer. Wonder
what those fellows were doing out in the
Rocxies?"
Not a Good Proposition.
company owning biographs. vita
scopes, Microscopes, microscopes cine
photographs, etc, made the following pro
line entering New York: IF you will give
us every facility for getting up train
robbery on your road to be exhibited in
moving pictures. we will see that you'll
receive the biggest sort of advertisement
out of 1t for your system. We will put
1t on every stage in the country"
The railroad folk took the matter un
der advisement, and agreed that to adj
vertise a train robbery on their line
would not tend to increase the number
of passengers or reassure those already
regularly carried. However, an arrange
ment was made satisfactory to both par
ties the railroad company obtaining the
concession of different set of living pic
lures that could properly be used as an
advertiser; ent.
So then. every picture of the Great
Train Robbery by the machines of the
vitascope company was taken on this line
of road within distance of fifteen miles
of New York city. The engineer and fire.
man are favorite employees. and the latter
has manifested a degree of hlstrionic