October 2nd, 1952, a train ran calmly along the track from Dundon to Widen. Suddenly, the brisk autumn day was interrupted by eleven men, who were disguised to be unidentifiable. They brandished firearms and “encouraged” the conductor to stop the train. One may ask, if there was nothing blocking the train, which there was not, why would he stop for them? The locomotive that was being used at the time did not run on a diesel engine; it was a steam engine. This means that it went slower.
 
   This train, in particular, was a Baldwin Locomotive which reached a top speed of 28 MPH. Combined with the already slow speed of the train itself, it being in a curve slowed it even further, meaning that had the conductor not stopped, the robbers would have just boarded the train and beaten or killed him for not following their orders (1&2).

Once they boarded the train, they began to rob the passengers of their jewelry, money and generally whatever could be pawned for a decent price. One passenger resisted and was beaten within an inch of his life. What made him think he could resist 11 armed men; this journalist does not know. One notable item stolen on the train was US Mail, which made the crime a federal offense (1).

The motive of the crime was attributed to a series of pro/anti-union fighting that had been going on at the time. The BC&G transported coal for the Elk River Coal and Lumber Company. The day before the robbery happened, October 1, 1952, striking miners formed a blockade around a mine entrance and actually overturned two vehicles. That very same day, a man who was identified as a guard for the Elk River Coal and Lumber Company was sent to the hospital with a broken collarbone .

This robbery was not given a lot of attention by the public or press, because it was overshadowed by the sheer amount of violence that occurred during this strike.  The other violent acts included murder and railroad bombings (3).

Though it is not the most violent or destructive part of Clay County history, it is a neat historical tidbit. It is interesting to think that the last train robbery in American history happened right here in Clay County, West Virginia.

1. Stover, Brooks.  History 1905 Through1965: BC&G Railroad.www.buffalocreek&gauley.com.

2. Wardon, William E. Buffalo Creek and Gauley. Ed Cist, New York, 1991.

3. Volume 2 of History of Clay County, West Virgina, Clay County History Book Committee. 1994.