Freight train on the Union Pacific Railroad, USA.

Train Robberies, Jesse James and his gang robbing a train

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A train along the Texas countryside. (Credit: Tom Danneman/Getty Images)

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HISTORY

1858

1866

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

In the early 20th century, America was flexing its economic and political muscle on the international stage. The era was defined by the temperance movement, Progressive-era activism, the sinking of the Titanic and World War I.

Early 20th Century U.S.

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

1885

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Trains

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Crédit Mobilier

Transcontinental Railroad

Stories

The Secret ‘White Trains’ That Carried Nuclear Weapons Around the U.S.

10 Trains That Changed the World

When did the United States start using time zones?

6 Daring Train Robberies

This Day in History

The first railroad accident

Canada’s transcontinental railway completed

Transcontinental railroad completed, unifying United States

The Reno brothers carry out the first train robbery in U.S. history

The first transcontinental mail service to San Francisco begins

Southern Pacific Railroad completes New Orleans to California route