INGENIOUS RAILWAY THIEVES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 13 November 1890, Page 35

INGENIOUS RAILWAY THIEVES.

Not a little of the work that is undertaken by the detectives employed by all our larger railway companies consists of the detection of luggage robberies.

Unknown to the general public, there exists a large number of rogues, whose sole means of sustenance is the abstraction of portmanteaux and boxes from the platforms of the greater railway stations. These sharpers have, by long years of practice, worked their methods until they are very perfect, and it takes a clever detective indeed to bring the thieves to justice.

Two rogues recently effected a particularly ingenious robbery on one of the South Coast lines.

One of them, a well-dressed and ostensibly fashionable man, drove up to Charing Cross about half an hour before the departure of the train, and commenced by tipping the guard and making himself generally pleasant all round.

He had a large leather trunk with him, and shortly afterwards a stranger with a similar trunk appeared at the terminus, both the articles being labelled " Hastings."

It was now the confederate's turn. Driv ing up to the station just before the train starred, he ran to the luggage van and said to the guard ;

" Stay a moment ; you have a large leather trunk labelled • Hastings ' there. I want it to go to Tunbridge, so put a fresh label on it, will you 1 "

Now the fellow took care not to have his confederate's trunk but the stranger's labelled, and this was dnly put out at Tunbridge, where the pair made off with themselves. But the stranger went on to Hastings, and there claimed his trunk, which was not to be found.

He was greatly distressed over the matter, Insomuch as he was a jeweller's assistant, and trunk in question contained a lot of valuable silverware. The thieves clearly knew of this, and the robbery had evidently been contemplated for some time.

The railway thief has lately invented one very remarkable piece of machinery for snapping up luggage, and this should be noticed. In shape and size it is exactly like a big Gladstone bag ;*but if you come to examine it closely, you will find that it is very unlike that useful article.

For this bag has no bottom to it, and the little spring handle serves not to open it, but to work a pair of iron teeth that are affixed to the sides of it. The contrivance serves many purposes. A traveller enters the station with a small hand valise that appears to be worth the taking. He puts it down for a moment while he secures his ticket, and then the thief has his chance.

In the most natural manner possible he edges up against the passenger, pops his contrivance over the smaller bag, gives the spring a touch so that the teeth work, grips the other article, and clears off quickly. Even does the passenger miss his valise at once, he never suspects the true thief, for who would look for his own bag in the interior of one belonging to another man 1

The railway thief is usually a season ticket-holder, since he is bold in his operations and difficult to take. We were talking to one of the heads of Scotland Yard on the matter recently, and he pointed out the difficulties.

In the first place watch your thief afc work at a terminus. He gets in at a place 20 miles from London, and three stone-laden boxes go in with him. These boxes are of three different kinds, constructed as much as possible after the fashion of a trunk that usually accompanies a woman on her railway journeys, or the commercial traveller on his expeditions to many towns.

The train arrives. You all well know the kind of scrimmage that ensues.

Now when the sharper joins the throng it is easy for him to note at a glance the kind of boxes that most easily resemble his own — for in the multifarious samples of bag -and baggage there are sure to be some like to the stone-laden — and these he claims with a loud voice, "That's mine." It is difficult, even for the owner or this spoil, to say at the moment that the luggage is, his, and in nine cases out of ten the fellow gets clear away from the station undetected.

Yet let us suppose that a detective tackles him. Well, all that he- does is to say, " I made a mistake, for the bags are so much alike that I could not tell one from the other."

You cannot charge him unless you find him repeating the offence, and being once noticed by a detective will cause him to move the scene of operations, perhaps even to suspend them for some time.

This class of work is more dangerous than the mere snapping. The latter requires plenty of impudence and plenty of nerve. Many railway thieves carry large rugs upon their arms, and when they see a bag they drop the rug over, and, stooping to pick it up, take it, bag and all. Their boldness is equally astonishing in regard to the relabelling of luggage. You have a box already labelled " York." They steal a label for Peterboro', and while your luggage is lying on the platform they pop the new label over the other, and then travel to Peterboro', knowing that your luggage will be put out there, and that you will not be present to claim it. .

Much luggage is stolen in this way ; and the thieves have the greater opportunity owing to, the wretched plan of baggage registering in vogue on English lines, a plan that is quite as much out of date as the stage coach.

In the cases of more serious railway rob-, beries, guards have often been implicated. One' man on a northern line was in the habit of opening all the smaller bags in his van and taking from them any light and portable articles that they might contain. The robberies might have gone undiscovered for ever had not a curious circumstance occurred, and one that instantly put the detectives on the track of the thief.

A lady had missed several articles of jewellery from her hand-bag, and laid her case before the company, claiming compensation, The guard of the train was called on, and asked if he knew anything of the robberies; but he denied any knowledge whatsoever.

His confusion, therefore, was great when his badge was produced from the very bag that had been rifled. It seemed that in the act of stooping to open the valise he had not noticed that this badge with his number had fallen from his shoulder right into the open bag, and that he had himself shut it up there. No further proof of his guilt was required, and be was at once convicted.

Railway thieves are often more daring abroad, and several cases have been reported where the men have left compartments as the train was moving, and walked down the footboards to the luggage vans, which they have broken open and rifled as the train was still moving.