ROBBERS BAFFLED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21639, 3 November 1933, Page 14

ROBBERS BAFFLED

RAILWAY GUARD BOUND • ATTEMPT ON CASHBOX FAILS A sensational attempt to rob tho north-west mail train in New South Wales was made near Newcastle early on a recent morning. Two armed and masked men boarded the guard's van. overpowered the guard, and attempted to remove tho eashbox. It was secured by a chain, and the unexpected slow-ing-down of the train caused the robbers to depart empty-handed. Jumping to the ground from tho moving train, they escaped in the darkness. The robbers boarded the guard's compartment on the off-side of the train as it was pulling out of Broadmeadow Station. Both had handkerchiefs tied over their faces and were armed, one with a revolver, the other with a piece of loaded rubber hose. Beforo the guard, George Hales, had time to get to his brakes they rushed him into a corner, and pulled him to the lloor of tho van. One man menaced j him with tho revolver, tho other tied j his hands behind his back. Whilo 0110 I man kept watch ovc-r the guard the | other tried to remove the eashbox from j tho van through the doorway to the | permanent way. He failed, because tho ! box was chained. These happenings occupied only two j or three minutes, while the train was j speeding on its way toward Sydney. The j grinding of tho brakes and tho slow- | ing up of the train as it approached j Adamstown, a conditional stopping- • place, where it was due to stop to set ! dowu passengers from beyond Mait- j land, brought home to the thieves the i realisation of one factor tliev had j overlooked —that tho train would stop J before (losford was reached, and thai ! they would not have time to secure the i eashbox before making their escape, i The two men raced for the offside door ! of the van, jumped to the permanent i way as the train stopped, and disappeared. Tho guard, his hands tied behind his hack, jumped down on to the .Adamstown platform and described what had happened. Adamstown is only a conditional setting down station for the train, and it would not halt there oneo in 100 journeys. If an Adamstown pa>senger had not been on tho train it would have run through from Broad meadow to (insford, and in (hose oO miles the thieves would have had ample opportunity to throw the eashbox to the line, jump alter it, and plunder it at their leisure. High qualities of organisation have been revealed in the planning of some of the goods trains rohberiw, which, however, have been made much more risky for those concerned in them in recent months by the unflagging vigilance of railway and police detectives. It is thought possible that daring goods-train pillagers may have dteided to turn their energies to the riskier but more remunerative business of raids on passenger trains. 1 ________— .. i One of the best buys durinq oddment days to-day is a sacrifice of Corticelli hose, pure silk, full fashioned, all shades. An 8s lid product for fis 1 lid. —Kcndells, Ltd., Karaugahape Jid. I