The First Great Train Robbery

In the year 1855,

England and France were at war with Russia in the Crimea.

The English troops were paid in gold.

Once a month Ј25,000 in gold was loaded into strongboxes...

inside the London bank of Huddleston and Bradford...

and taken by trusted armed guards to the railway station.

The convoy followed no fixed route or timetable.

At the station the gold was loaded into the luggage van of the Folkestone train...

for shipment to the coast and from there to the Crimea.

The strongboxes were placed in two specially built Chubb safes...

constructed of three-quarter- inch tempered steel.

Each safe weighed 550 pounds.

Each safe was fitted with two locks requiring two keys,...

or four keys altogether.

For security, each key was individually protected.

Two keys were entrusted to the railway dispatcher, who kept them in his office.

A third was in the custody of Mr Edgar Trent,...

president of the Huddleston and Bradford.

And the fourth key was given to Mr Henry Fowler,...

manager of the Huddleston and Bradford Bank.

The presence of so much gold in one place...

naturally aroused the interests of the English criminal elements,...

but in 1855 there had never been a robbery from a moving railway train.

Is he dead?

Mm.

Robbery? I'd hardly call it that... one poor fellow working alone.

He had no chance of success.

Indeed, speaking on behalf of the bank,...

I must inform you the matter was trivial and hardly worthy of our consideration.

I think I may say that without fear of contradiction.

The villain expired?

Quite. The guard threw him from the train at full speed.

He died instantly. Poor devil.

- He's not been identified? - I shouldn't think so.

The manner of his passing was such that his features were... disarrayed.

He was obviously after the Crimean gold.

- Apparently. Speaking... - This damnable war...

- will be the undoing of the nation. - He's off again.

Unrest in the north, and now this ill-considered war with the Tsar.

What do you expect when one man in seven has the vote?

We have shopkeepers voting now!

And women next. If they get their way.

Women voting! Really!

- This robbery had interesting... - They haven't the capacity for logic.

- Too emotional. Quite absurd. - It's not their logical capacity I enjoy!

- Even a good woman's too much trouble. - Come, Arthur, they do have their uses.

Edward's got the proper view by not marrying at all.

Someone will catch him.

- I know one or two with their eye on him. - No one will catch Edward.

God knows what a man may catch in London if he's not married!

This thief on the train, Henry. Was there a risk of him stealing the gold?

- None. Quite impossible. - Nothing's impossible.

Utterly impossible. Two Chubb safes, four keys separately guarded. Impossible.

- Still, I suppose it could be done. - I can't imagine how.

A thief would have to get all four keys. Two are locked away in the station.

One is in the hands of our president, Mr Edgar Trent, who is utterly reliable.

I don't know where Mr Trent keeps his key but I know of the fourth,...

for I am myself entrusted with guarding it.

Damn it, Henry, when are you going to tell us where you've hidden your key?

I keep it about my neck. I wear it at all times.

Even when bathing?

Even while bathing. It never leaves my person.

- Clever. - Most ingenious.

So you see, to get all four keys... quite impossible.

The Crimean gold and all the bank's other transactions are entirely safe.

Thank God for that.

You may count on it, Edward. Count on it.

- Who do those men think you are? - Edward Pierce. A sharp businessman.

A sharp businessman? That covers a multitude of sins.

It does among that group.

And what's your business?

It's not really clear. I've made a great deal of money in coal, in the north.

- Have you? - Oh, yes, I have. I'm quite well-off.

Are you?

I think so. I've... made something of myself.

Do they believe all that?

Among sharp businessmen one doesn't ask too many questions.

Do they know of your interest in the theatre?

An unmarried gentleman must amuse himself.

- Must he? - Oh, yes, he must.

Did they mention the train?

Mm-hm.

What did they say?

They all agreed that it was impossible.

Simply impossible.

You like that?

- I can tell it excites you. - Mm-hm.

Oh! Are you all right?

Nice pull.

Not bad, if I do say so myself. You look well.

Yes. How was the touch?

You saw it, didn't you?

Or was I so fast you couldn't see it?

I saw.

- Did you wire her? - No, just my hands.

Hummingbirds.

- Thinking of a job, then? - I may have one or two little things.

Those one or two little things... Could they be crib jobs?

They could.

- Bit dicey, are they? - Very dicey.

- Is it dipping or keys? - Keys.

- Wax or a straightaway haul? - Wax.

You didn't do the Berkeley Hills job, did you?

Berkeley Hills? Shit job.

A shit job? Well, they're clean with 2,000 guineas gone.

No. I was thinking of something bigger.

- This wax. On the fly? - Mm-hm.

Then I'm your man.

- The fastest screwsman you'll ever see. - So I heard.

- What's it to be, then? - First we must case a square-rigged gent.

Good night.

Mr Edgar Trent,...

president of the Huddleston and Bradford Bank,...

follows an inflexible routine,...

departing the bank at the end of each day promptly at 7 pm.

Mr Trent resides at number seven Belgrave Square.

It's a mansion of 23 rooms, not including servants' quarters.

His second wife, Emily, is 30 years his junior...

and with her unmarried stepdaughter she runs the household very strictly.

There are ten servants employed.

Coachman, butler, gardener, doorman, cook and two maids.

All the servants are content and can't be bribed.

- Dogs? - Two. Terriers. Walks 'em twice a day.

Seven in the morning and 8.15 at night.

- Children? - Five.

Three at home. The youngest is a boy who sleepwalks.

Which creates a commotion.

No point in cracking a 23-room house until we find out where the key is.

The person who knows where that key is is Mr Trent.

Really?

He must have a weakness. Gambling, drink... Women?

Well, hello!

No, no, no.

No!

No respectable gentleman is that respectable.

- He's a ratting gent. - Indeed he is.

Thank you, gentlemen, please! Mind your back there, sir!

Thank you! Excuse me, sir!

Nothing but the finest, gentlemen.

Every one country-born and bred, not a water ditch among 'em.

Who wants to try a rat? Come on, gents. Who wants to try a rat?

15 of your best for my fancy.

Weigh the fancy of Mr T. A very sporting gentleman.

Let Mr T's fancy dog through. There you are.

- 14 pounds. - 14 pounds is Mr T's fancy dog.

And he's called for a try at 15 rats.

- Shall it be three minutes, Mr T? - Yes.

Three minutes it is. You may wager as you feel fit.

Get him his 15, Tom.

You win some, you lose some.

- Are you ready? - Ready!

And... go!

Time, gentlemen. Three minutes!

Get the dog out. Get the dog out. Thank you, gentlemen.

Pay your debts. Who's next?

Come on! Any man fancy his fancy?

A sporting chap. You win one or two, you lose one or two.

Who's going to be next to try the finest country-bred rats that money can buy?

May I join you?

If you like.

Lover wasn't at his best. He lacked bustle. But he came up well enough.

- My Lover will fight again. - Indeed.

And I shall wager upon him again when he does.

- Did you lose much? - Ten guineas. A trifle.

Ten guineas!

Well, I'm pleased you take it so lightly.

I admire a man who may keep a fancy and sport him.

I should do so myself were I not so often abroad on business.

Whenever I'm gone, my wife looks after the animals.

I fear I've been too devoted to business these past few years.

I've never married.

- Of course, I should like to. - Of course.

It's so hard to meet a suitable girl.

- What are you constructing? - A water wheel. Delightful.

Especially with the rusted curve of the water wheel itself. Don't you agree?

We are building the rusted wheel at considerable expense.

It is constructed of previously rusted metal. The craftsmen are ingenious.

But we must wait for the weeds to grow before it takes on the proper appearance.

Oh, I'm sure it'll be a handsome ruin.

Where is Elizabeth?

I have passed many pleasant hours here...

watching the workmen fit each piece into its precise slot.

Such skill.

They screw it together?

No, bolt it, actually, with long bolts. Fitted tightly.

Yes. Long bolts, fitted tightly.

I've just returned from America, a country of many prominent erections.

It is exciting to see things come together.

So long as the quality does not suffer.

Tight-fitting joints. That's the secret.

It is so rare these days.

It depends on the skill of the workman, of course.

And he must have the proper tools.

Ah, my darling daughter!

Now may I present Mr Edward Pierce? My daughter Elizabeth.

Miss Trent, you've taken me completely by surprise.

I cannot tell if that's to my advantage.

I can assure you it is, wholly.

- Would you try one of these, Mr Pierce? - With gratitude.

Er...