Secrets Of Scotland Yard xx-xx-xx xxx Crime On The Railway

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Secrets Of Scotland Yard—Crime On The Railway
Date: August 30, 2025

This episode transports listeners back to the heyday of British railways, revealing the shadowy world of railway crime as investigated by Scotland Yard. Blending real-life cases, police insights, and dramatizations, it focuses on ingenious robberies, inside jobs, organized-crime rings, and the relentless pursuit of justice by British railway police.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction to Railway Crime

• Clarifying "Off the Rails":
  C opens the show by playing on the phrase "off the rails"—not a sign of misbehavior, but about criminals on the railways.

  "I'm going to tell you something about criminals who, when they're off the rails, are on the rails... this program is about the kind of crime and the kind of criminal who is most at home on the railway." — C (01:40)

• The Scale of the Problem:
  B highlights that theft from railways has massively increased, with claims for stolen goods soaring from £180,000 (in 1938) to over two and a half million pounds a year, particularly items with high black market value.

  "Robbery on the railways is a growing business. Our job is to stop it growing." — B (02:59)

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2. The Organization and Methods of Railway Criminals

• Shift From Petty Pilferage to Organized Crime:
  C explains petty theft has evolved into "wholesale looting," with about 60% committed by coordinated gangs.

  "Pilferage has ceased to be a proper description of railway thieving. Wholesale looting is the only term appropriate." — C (04:23)

• Gangs in Action: Cigarette Train Heist (05:09–06:30)

  • A dramatized account: an organized group times their jump onto a moving train, steals over a million cigarettes, and uses waiting lorries for the getaway.
  • The criminals demonstrate intimate knowledge of train schedules and contents, highlighting professionalism and planning.

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3. Police Countermeasures and Notable Catches

• Sting Operation at Cricklewood Siding (07:16):

  • An alert watchman grows suspicious, alerts the railway police, and stalls the thieves—leading to several arrests, though the gang leader escapes.

  "The watchman felt suspicious... and he'd contacted the railway police. He was right. They were stolen goods and the papers were forged. Seven men were picked up in the fight which followed." — C (08:48)

• Inside Jobs and Parcel Diversion Schemes (09:07–10:47):

  • Employees use false labels to reroute packages, even redirecting wedding gifts or electric lamps.
  • A London gang redirects parcels to minor stations, collects them in disguise, and runs a black-market operation out of a Soho flat.

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4. Colorful Crime and Bizarre Tactics

• Creative Smuggling and Employee Theft (12:49–15:43):

  • Cases include truckloads of coal rerouted, station taxi drivers selling stolen stockings, and even an employee smuggling tobacco under his clothes, only to be caught mid-escape when his trousers drop.

  "The man's trousers fell to the ground and he halted sheepishly in his underpants, with ring upon ring of crisp tobacco... wound round his middle." — C (15:00)

• Duty and Danger: Heroism on the Rails (14:30–15:00):

  • Railway Police Constable Robert Cameron, ambushed and tied up by whiskey thieves, escapes and earns the British Empire Medal for his bravery.

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5. High-Stakes Mail Robberies

• Mailbag Thefts with Sophisticated Methods (16:49–22:21):
  • Stories of mailbags filled with cash vanishing—the £10,000 Glasgow-Euston theft remains unsolved; in another, crooks swap cash for wooden blocks.
  • The Staunton Case: A new GPO mail sorter, Robert Staunton, plans a swap of mailbags during a night run. He is caught due to a seemingly innocuous slip—his claimed orphan status contradicted by a "widowed mother" used as a cover for gang communication.

    "The widowed mother was a bit of camouflage for Mr. Staunton to contact his companions. Unfortunately, in his original application for the job, Mr. Staunton had described himself as an orphan." — C (22:06)

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6. Historic Perspectives and Final Notes

• The First Railway Pickpocket (22:31–24:59):
  • An early pickpocket thrived in smoky, windowless rail cars, until he was outwitted by detectives and changes in railway protocol.
• Petty versus Grand Larceny—A Matter of Scale (25:12–26:18):
  • Not all thefts are grand: many are petty pilferage by long-service employees, sometimes risking careers for trivial gains.
• Safety and Prevention:
  • The hosts assure listeners that railway travel in Britain remains quite safe, but vigilance is always wise.

  "...just because this program has told you about some of the crimes going on in the railways, I hasten to add that a trip by railway in Britain is one of the safest ways of traveling." — C (26:11)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Robbery on the railways is a growing business. Our job is to stop it growing.” — B (02:59)
• “Pilferage has ceased to be a proper description of railway thieving. Wholesale looting is the only term appropriate.” — C (04:23)
• “The man’s trousers fell to the ground and he halted sheepishly in his underpants, with ring upon ring of crisp tobacco... wound round his middle.” — C (15:00)
• “It was not the only method they used. It was found that packages in transit had been redirected under other names to small stations...” — C (10:47)
• “The widowed mother was a bit of camouflage for Mr. Staunton to contact his companions. Unfortunately... Staunton had described himself as an orphan.” — C (22:06)
• “Just because this program has told you about some of the crimes... I hasten to add that a trip by railway in Britain is one of the safest ways of traveling.” — C (26:11)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:40 — Opening remarks on crime "on the rails"
• 02:59 — Scale of railway robbery
• 04:23 — Pilferage now "wholesale looting"
• 05:09–06:30 — Cigarette train theft dramatization
• 07:16–08:48 — Cricklewood Yard police sting
• 09:07–10:47 — Parcel diversion and inside jobs
• 12:49–15:43 — Colorful theft cases (coal, stockings, tobacco)
• 14:30–15:00 — Heroism of Officer Cameron
• 16:49–22:21 — High-stakes mail robberies
• 22:31–24:59 — The first railway pickpocket and police countermeasures
• 25:12–26:18 — Petty pilferage and message on safety

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Episode Tone and Style

• The narration is brisk, engaging, and laced with understated British humor and dry wit.
• Dramatizations and real cases evoke both suspense and amusement, balancing gravity with the charm of classic radio storytelling.

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Summary Insights

This episode vividly illustrates the long-running duel between railway criminals and the dogged police determined to outsmart them, from the golden age of steam to the administrative complexities of the mid-20th century. Listeners are treated to ingenious heists, comical bungling, and heroic police work, all underlining that while railway crime makes for entertaining stories, it is vigilance—both institutional and personal—that keeps railway travel safe and reliable.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

How do you do?

[C]

This is Tidebrook.

[B]

You've probably heard the expression off the rails.

[C]

It usually signifies that somebody has let the side down by descending to a little blackmailing or perhaps a touch of arson. In fact, going off the rails is usually taken as a sign of being not quite straight. I'm using the term, however, in quite a different sense today. I'm going to tell you something about criminals who, when they're off the rails, are on the rails. Perhaps that sounds a little ambiguous. Let me put it in a simpler way. This program is about the kind of crime and the kind of criminal who is most at home on the railway. Let's start off this Secrets of Scotland Yard program with a few facts about robbery on the railway.

[B]

In 1938, claims against the railways for stolen goods costing about £180,000. Today, similar claims are costing over two and a half million pounds a year. As an inspector of the railway police, that's not a fact I'm particularly proud about. It goes to prove that robbery on the railways is a growing business. Our job is to stop it growing. Almost half the claims were for the theft of tobacco, wine, spirits, textile boots and shoes.

[C]

Articles which have the greatest black market value.

[B]

Investigating is taking up much of the working time of more than 1000 railway officials.

[D]

Will be arriving at platform 6.

[B]

Hello. What are you doing in that crate?

[D]

Hey.

[B]

Just moving in.

[D]

Who's that to do with you?

[B]

On a rail reporter? Yes, sir.

[D]

What's the order?

[B]

I think you better come along.

[D]

All right.

[C]

Pilferage has ceased to be a proper description of railway thieving. Wholesale looting is the only term appropriate. The railway police estimate that about 60% of the looting is carried out by organized gangs, usually not more than six in number. Scotland Yard has met cunning with cunning. But those who specialize in robbery on the railway are always up to new tricks. Now listen to this story. It occurred not so long ago. A good strain was puffing slowly up an incline on its run from Nottingham to Chesterfield. Standing by a plate laying hut at the Crest of the hill, you might have seen a small gang of workmen. Apparently they were waiting for the train to pass before resuming work on the mine.

[B]

All right, chaps, it's the fifth van after the engine. Remember the fifth van, Shallie, Jim.

[D]

Wait till I give the word. Jump.

[B]

Just the way you rehearsed it.

[D]

Okay, Jack. All right, jump.

[B]

Okay, boys. Pass me a crowbar or.

[D]

Nah, go ahead. There we go. Ah, that's got it. Now go on, Indigo.

[C]

Once inside the van, which contained hundreds of pounds worth of cigarettes, the gang got to work. As soon as the train left the tunnel, they pushed open the door and threw down the embankment over a million cigarettes packed neatly in cartons. And here comes the organization.

[B]

Waiting on the road.

[C]

By the side of the embankment were a couple of lorries.

[D]

All right, boys, keep busy down there. Light him up.

[B]

We didn't find the cigarettes were missing until the train was 100 miles further up the line. Obviously the man who boarded the train must have had a good idea of what was in the van and knew exactly where the train would slow down. And they calculated the whole job in such a way proving they were professionals at the game these men got away with. Doesn't always go that way, isn't the risk case it took place a few months ago, late one night in one of London's largest good yards, the Crickle Wood siding. Hello there. Anybody about? Who's that? Ah, evening watchman. Evening, mate.

[C]

Sorry to be so late, chum. I'm afraid you'll have to open up these gates.

[B]

What's the idea? It's half past 12.

[C]

I know that, mate, but there's a.

[B]

Load of one of these vans in the sodium which is wanted extra special.

[C]

And if we don't get it down to the box by six o' clock.

[B]

Tomorrow morning, somebody's going to lose a few thousand pounds. I have to see your papers.

[C]

Ah, don't you worry.

[B]

Everything's in order.

[C]

Here, take a look at this.

[B]

It seems all right. You've got permission?

[C]

Well, that's what it says.

[B]

All right, I'll open up. Well, don't be long about it. Come on, then.

[D]

Hello, watchman. All right, I'm coming. Now open up these gates.

[B]

Now hold on a moment. I've got some friends to see you. What do you mean friends? Hello, chum. Fancy meeting you.

[D]

Look out, George.

[C]

Yes, it was the ruthers. The police to you and me. And as the inspector says, the boot was on the other foot. The watchman felt suspicious about the whole thing and he'd Contacted the railway police. He was right. They were stolen goods and the papers were forged. Seven men were picked up in the fight which followed, but the leader got away.

[B]

Of course, not all railroad robberies are as ambitious and organized as the two you've just heard about. The simplest and one of the most effective methods of looting has been for railway employees to stick false logos on parcels and packages in transit. London portal readdressed parcels to his own home. A remodeling conspiracy at Waterloo station was broken up through the vigilance of an employee.

[C]

It.

[D]

Oh, good morning.

[B]

I've got a couple of fasters for you.

[D]

Oh, shall I sign for them?

[B]

Yeah, that's right, miss. Sign here.

[D]

My daughter's wedding. She's having such a lot of presents.

[B]

Yes, so I noticed.

[D]

Bring them in here, will you? Thank the love. Come along.

[B]

Do not take wedding.

[C]

It's funny.

[B]

I can understand her getting a mango, but what's she doing with two dozen electric light lamps? Don't seem to be the sort of.

[C]

Wedding present she get. I wonder if there's something fishy going on.

[B]

And from London we've only a step further to talking to the railroad police about it. It was found that this was just one of the ways in which a very astute gang had been robbing the railways. It was not the only method they used. It was found that packages in transit had been redirected under other names to small stations where they were later collected by members of a gang, one in a chauffeur's uniform. The final destination of the stolen goods was a flood in Soho, where the thieves operated in a quicksand, showroom and office. The flat was raided and the ringleaders caught again.

[D]

Have a look round. Who sent you?

[B]

Charlie.

[D]

Ah, that's all right. Come on in. Well, what do you want to say? Cigarettes? Radio sets? Or was it battery?

[B]

I think I've seen quite enough. I have a search warrant here.

[D]

What's a gun?

[B]

This is not a game. This is a raid.

[C]

Cigarettes, radio sets, chests of tea and other goods worth hundreds of pounds were recovered.

[B]

But the priest knew that for a.

[C]

Long period beforehand the gang got away with much more than that. These modern highwaymen are certainly people of resource. But if you think you've heard the limit of that ingenuity, just wait and see. Before turning to the organization of the railway piece, let's take a few more examples of crime on the railway.

[B]

In a railway yard in Scotland at one time, whole truckloads of coal were systematically rerouted to the yard of a small merchant. Who was in Swim4Porters at Woking took advantage of a consignment to set up a nylon emporium and sell the stockings through station taxi drivers. Railway police bought two holes in a wooden fence by a railway arch in Suffolk and watched loot worth £2,500 being carried into a thieves den. Nine men and a woman were convicted. One man had a puppy in a crate which began barking, and the police overheard him say, shut up. You'll have to get used to being here.

[C]

Now listen to the story of just an ordinary member of the railway police. He was on duty at a goods yard at Burton on Trent one dark evening. His name is railway police constable Robert Cameron.

[E]

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[C]

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[E]

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[B]

Hi there.

[D]

Who do you want? I'd like to take a look at that lorry, if you don't mind. What lorry you got?

[B]

I'm a member of the railway police. Yes.

[D]

I don't care if you're a member of the marines.

[B]

Why don't I? You'll still have to stop, I'm afraid. Oh, will I? Come on, boys. Tie him up. I leave him that shed over there.

[C]

While he was dragged into a warehouse and tied up when the thieves had gone, leaving the whiskey behind, he struggled free and crawled to a shunter's cabin. Today, railway police constable Robert Cameron wears their British Empire medal. Perhaps the most amusing conclusion to any incident of pure pilferage was an occasion when a portrait crew danced into a mirror one Sunday and saw a man in a quiet corner of another platform undo his braces and turn slowly round and round. A chase down a lane followed until the man's trousers fell to the ground and he halted sheepishly in his underpants, with ring upon ring of crisp tobacco stolen from a crate in the station, wound round his middle.

[B]

Police officers at Houston saw two men in porter's uniforms examining goods loaded on barrels ready for dispatch and knew that neither was employed in handling parcels traffic. While they watched one of the men remove labels from three barrels which the second man then transferred to a smaller barrel. This was ruled out to a point near the station cloak room. The man walked away, but returned a few minutes later with two other men who began loading the barrels into a waiting motor car. All were arrested. The barrels were worth £300.

[C]

Before the British Railways were nationalized, each company maintained its own police force, led in many cases by ex members of Scotland Yard. Today the railway piece is a complete force of its own, charged with the particular responsibility of policing and protecting thousands of buildings and many thousands of miles owned by British Railways. The men who just charge this duty undergo a special training. They learn most of the tricks we've told you about today in this program and they cooperate with the regular police force and Scotland Guard to put a stop to every form of crime on the railways.

[B]

Perhaps the most unpopular of all railway.

[C]

Criminals are those who play for the high sticks and endeavor to rob His Majesty's mails.

[B]

Of course there were some classic mailbag robberies of the past. But today's stories read like fiction. A 10,000 pound mailbag theft last year from a Glasgow Euston train remains unsolved. The empty bags were found on an embankment 70 yards away. The disappearance of nearly £40,000 in 5 pound and 1 pound notes in transit between a Citibank and Scotland is still being investigated. A litter bag containing 6,000 pounds vanished during a 60 minute road and rail journey between Liverpool and Wigan. And when a packet which contained £2,000 for a Manchester bank was opened, the contents had miraculously changed to wooden blocks. To be strictly accurate, the theft of mailbags comes under the General post Office and is not really the railway's responsibility. But it's their worry all the same. Here's the story of one of the most classic of mailbag robberies of all time.

[C]

The scene is one of the sorting vans on a world famous night mail train leaving Euston station in London every evening just before midnight. It reaches Scotland the following morning. While most of Britain is asleep, this train speeds through the heart of the country.

[B]

The nerve center of the train is.

[C]

The sorting bands where almost a hundred men are at work all night sorting Scottish mail picked up at London and dividing it up into the various regional areas so that when it reaches Scotland it will be ready for distribution in the big Scottish cities by the second delivery that morning. Most of the men who work on this train have been in the service of the GPO for a number of years. But naturally, from time to time, there is a new face among them. Take tonight, for instance.

[B]

The young fellow over there at the rack in the corner.

[C]

He'd only been on the job for a few weeks and he's just qualified to work on his own without the guidance of an older sorter. Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Edinburgh. One by one, he sorts the postal.

[B]

Packets into the pigeonholes in front of him.

[C]

Monotonous work, but still demanding all his attention. But tonight, this young sorter is not really thinking about his job. He's thinking about something else in the nest. Aberdeen or.

[B]

Five minutes to two.

[C]

Five, four and then. Yes, five minutes to go. And then wait for two.

[B]

Wait for two boys together.

[C]

But half of the sorters in the corridor, our young friend moves into the next car where a primitive canteen is set up and cups of tea are being poured out. He makes some excuse and moves on.

[B]

Further down the car.

[C]

Perhaps he's going to wash his hands. Or perhaps it has taken three months of plotting and planning to obtain that key. The key to the van which contained the registered mail. He worked quickly. Three bags and no more, he took out. But those bags had been chosen carefully. The contents were known to be negotiable. Banknotes. A rich prize. Now comes the cleverest part of the trip. Three other bags, in appearance precisely the same as the original registered mail bags, had been concealed by our friend in a suitcase which he had brought aboard the train. The exchange was made and the mail band locked up. Once again.

[B]

Everything seemed perfect when the train came into Glasgow.

[C]

Stationed, it looked as if nothing could go wrong.

[B]

Good evening.

[D]

Good evening.

[B]

You're Robert Staunton, aren't you?

[C]

That's right.

[B]

I wonder if I can trouble you to come along to the office for a few minutes.

[C]

What do you ask me for?

[B]

Just a few words. Bring that case along with you.

[C]

Yes, sir.

[B]

Come on in. Now, Mr. Staunton, would you mind opening up that case? How do you know? Well, this is the one question I cannot answer. You see, If I told you, you'd not believe.

[C]

And how did he know? It was really very simple. But as you've learned from these programs, it's the simple things that make the crooks game a mugs game. Obviously, the railway realizes that GPO sorters on the trains, if they should have crooked disposition, have a number of opportunities for putting some original ideas into practice. For that reason, every new sorter while he's training is screened Very thoroughly by the railway police or the gpo. Our friend Staunton and his companions took all the obvious precautions. Trouble was, one of the precautions was just a little too obvious. Mr. Staunton had given his address during his training period as a lodging house in London. As a routine matter, the police checked up on his character with his landlady. His landlady, dear soul, had given him an excellent character.

[B]

And it mentioned very matter of fact.

[C]

That Staunton had frequent visits from his widowed mother.

[B]

The widowed mother was a bit of.

[C]

Camouflage for Mr. Staunton to contact his companions. Unfortunately, in his original application for the job, Mr. Staunton has described himself as an orphan.

[B]

Starting from that very small fact, the railway piece had spun a long line.

[C]

Of thread which led eventually to the station master's office in Glasgow and the arrest of Staunton, just another cook who thought that the way to easy money was along the railway lines.

[B]

I'd like to add a historic note. Of course, there has been crime on the railways ever since there were railways, which is well over a hundred years. Who was the first railway criminal? Well, no one could say for certain. But I can tell you about one of the very first men to realize the possibility of crime on the railways. And what happened to him. It was long, long ago when a trip by train was still a great event. Passengers traveled in open cars which today we would consider little better than trucks. The guard wore a pup hat and the engine driver wore one too. The most unpleasant part of the journey was when the train came to a panic. There were no lights in the carriages. Worse still, there were no windows. So they soon filled up with smoke and grime. You could imagine the coughing and confusion. Well, it was this very confusion that gave up. And a pioneer in his class. The great idea, you see, his profession was that of a pickpoint. And it occurred to him that never was there greater opportunity to practice his craft than aboard one of these newfangled railway trains. When he'd entered a long tunnel, he.

[C]

Went about it very carefully.

[B]

He studied the trains and the passengers from all angles and for some time pursued a most successful career. Everybody was far too concerned of their comfort to notice his activities, and the steps were deported. It was far too late to do anything about it. Then, at last, the railroad company decided that they had to take some action regarding the numerous contents they were getting. To every poison there's an antidote, and to every crime there's an answer. Well, just as usual, our friend the pickpocket boarded a train one day, little Knowing that he was followed by a detective company. Off went the trains. They came to the panel and our friend prepared to go about his business. He turned his attention to the man.

[C]

Sitting next to him.

[B]

A big, well dressed but simple looking gentleman whom he picked out as a likely looking victim. His hand was busy obstructing a solid looking watch from his pocket when suddenly there was a terrific roar of screws and windows. And then the sudden flash of light. And what was it? The engine driver had no further entered the tunnel. Then I've prolonged plan. He'd reversed and come out again. And as for the simple looking gentleman there, you're right. He was the detective.

[D]

Ah, dear.

[B]

The way of a pioneer was always a hard one. And our friend's case proves that there's no exception to the rule. As I told you, not all railway crime is quite so ambitious. And in 50% of railway cases the.

[C]

Word pilferage is applicable.

[B]

There have been too many examples of criminal fellow women. Some of whom have sacrificed 30 to 40 years service and pension rights for thefts of soap, a packet of chocolate or a pair of stockings. An engine driver took coal from his engine to swap for eggs among the shutdown, rifled suitcases in a vent and regularly threw stolen goods into his own garden as the train passed his landside home. Fur coats, typewriters, vacuum cleaners and the piano accordion. That among the goods fulfilled in 1948. Out of 8,585 larceny prosecutions by the Railway Police last year, 2,287 were its ownership. Thus, three outsiders were convicted. To every young railway man. Statistically, this means that only one every 300 rail workers is found guilty of theft.

[C]

I believe that, don't you? And just because this program has told.

[B]

You about some of the crimes going.

[C]

On in the railways, I hasten to.

[B]

Add that a trip by a railway.

[C]

In Britain is one of the safest ways of traveling. But while you're about it, keep an eye on your bag.

[D]

After all, if everybody were just a.

[C]

Little more careful, most of the cooks in this world would be looking for new ways of earning their living. And it would just help to avoid that temptation to go off the rails.