In a previous posting, one of you mugs suggested I read, Public Enemies by Bryan Burroughs.
I CAN’T PUT THAT BOOK DOWN!
It’s one of the absolute best books I’ve ever read!
In it, they describe a scheme that Dillinger, Homer Van Meter and Baby Face Nelson discussed (and depicted in the recent movie only without Nelson) about robbin’ a train that was supposed to be carrying a big fat payroll (I think a gov’t payroll) in 1934. After Dillinger’s death and just before Baby Face Nelson got turned into The Late Great Swiss Cheese Charlie by J. Edgar’s boys, Nelson was hoping to carry-out the heist with a new gang.
Nelson was documented in the book as mentioning, “that Milwaukee train”.
He could’ve been referring to The Milwaukee Road, or a train going to/from Milwaukee.
Lester Gillis may have been referring to the inside job on MILW at Rondout in 1924, citing it as an example of what he was trying to exceed (bigger take).
Well, no clear answers from me - maybe some more leads, though -
On the Internet Movie Data-Base - ‘IMDb’ website for the movie ‘‘Public Enemies’’ [2009] at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/ , there appear to be several references to a ‘federal reserve train’ - mostly in the ‘Comments’ or ‘Reviews’ section, I believe. Also that the robbery was being planned by Nelson, Dillinger, Alvin Karpis of the [Ma] Barker-Karpis Gang, and a guy named Murray.
Excerpt apparently from page 338 of John Dillinger: The Life and Death of America’s First Celebrity Criminal by Dary Matera (2004) at
‘‘John Dillinger the outlaw returned to Anna’s from the train robbery casing mission on the morning of July 20, transforming back into the mild-mannered Jimmy Lawrence.’’
According to the book Public Enemies Alvin Karpis and others robbed an Erie Railroad train which was stopped at Garrettsville Ohio. The robbery took place on November 7,1935. Garrettsville is on the Erie’s Cleveland- Youngstown line at Milepost 36.7 from Cleveland. John Dillinger was already killed by the FBI when the robbery happened.
Yeah but those weren’t the yeggs I was talking about. I was referring to the idea Dillinger had to rob a train, just he and Van Meter themselves, but then they apparently decided to bring Baby Face Nelson in on the plan. After Dillinger and Van Meter were killed (separately), Nelson (Lester Gillis) thought about going ahead with the plan with a new gang. I wasn’t referring to the Erie robbery.
I wonder how reliable any of this information really is. The principal subject was killed suddenly, so did not have time to tell anyone. I believe it unlikley that he left behind any notes, journals, diaries, letters, etc. on this, as 1) those would have been incriminating, and 2) these people generally weren’t that intellectual or organized. Instead, we have to rely on the recollections of their colleagues - and again, anything of that nature they would say would be 1) incriminating as to them, 2) possibly the result of a ‘plea bargain’ or ‘state’s evidence’ deal, or 3) just braggadocio.