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1963: Thirteen years after the crime of the century, the gang combined to tell their story…
The Train Robbers: Their Story
What you need to know before your trail
On Thursday August 8, 1963, fifteen masked men stopped the night train from Glasgow to London and robbed it of £2,500,000 (the equivalent of £41 million today). It was called the crime of the century, and the thieves were relentlessly pursued by Scotland Yard until half the gang were behind bars serving huge prison terms. But the story did not end there. First one, then another escaped in thrilling style and fled abroad, catching the world’s imagination and making the Train Robbers into folk heroes.
Thirteen years later, the gang combined to tell their story, and Piers Paul Read, author of the bestsellingAlive, agreed to write it.
Travel Guide
Buckinghamshire – the train from Glasgow to London
The Great Train Robbery was the crime of the century given that the sum of £2.6 million was taken from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London .
The crime, which had been meticulously planned for months by a gang of 15 was carried out in the early morning of 8 August 1963. The gang stopped the train at a signal box, moved the train a little up the track to the Bridego Railway Bridge, (now Mentmore bridge) Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire.
They stole £2.6 million, a lot more than they had expected to be on the train, and would be equivalent to £50 million today. The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. The train driver was severely beaten and never worked again.
After the robbery, the gang hid at Leatherslade Farm.They left many clues behind which lead to the eventual arrest and conviction of most of the gang. The ringleaders were sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Train Robbers: Their Story
Destination : London, Buckinghamshire, Mentmore Author/Guide: Piers Paul Read Departure Time: 1963
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