A Wild West Train Robbery in Oregon

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When I was researching historical details to incorporate into Luna, my sweet romance that releases July 2, I happened across an article about a train robbery that took place in July 1914.

The timing was perfect for my story set during the summer of 1914.  And how exciting to have my hero and heroine on a train that was getting robbed!  It’s referred to as one of the last Wild West train robberies, and one of the last that had a six-shooter involved in the shoot-out. It was such a newsworthy event, newspapers all over the region carried the story of the robbers who picked the wrong train.

Clarence Stoner

Clarence Stoner was a cousin to two of the West’s notorious outlaws, Hugh and Charles Whitney, and a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch gang in Wyoming.

Albert Meadors
Charles Manning

In the summer of 1914, he was in Oregon, running around with a gambler named Charles Manning and an outlaw sheepman from Kentucky named Albert Meadors.

The three of them hatched a plan to rob Train No. 5, an Oregon & Washington Railway Navigation Co. passenger train. In real life, the robbery happened in the middle of the night, but I couldn’t figure out a reason to put my characters on the train then, so I took a bit of creative license with the timeline and made it the afternoon.

The would-be robbers received word the train would be carrying a big payroll in the express car. The point where they planned to rob the train was a bit of genius. They chose a remote spot between Kamela and Meacham, at the summit of the Blue Mountains in Eastern Oregon. The train would slow down there to check its brakes, and that’s when they planned to rob the train.

When the train neared the summit and slowed to check the brakes, out came the guns, and the outlaws set their plans in motion. They collected all the train crew members, starting at the back of the train. One of the porters was shining shoes when he was forced to leave his post at gunpoint, and reportedly carried the shoe in his hand all the way to the baggage car where the outlaws would keep the crew. As they moved through the train, Manning pulled the emergency stop, and the train came to rest a few dozen yards past the crest of the summit, nose down on a 2.5 percent winding downhill grade with the airbrakes locked (for those who are train aficionados – yes, that was a very bad thing!).

Stoner went forward to get the engineer and fireman, bringing them back to the locked baggage car. Manning approached the express car and demanded entry. The clerk opened the door, and Manning soon learned there was no money inside. The outlaws were robbing the wrong train.

Instead of cutting their losses and disappearing, they decided to rob the passengers. Stoner was left to guard the train crew at the baggage car while Manning and Meadors started going through the passenger cars, stealing money and jewelry.

It just so happened that one of the passengers was Morrow County Deputy Sheriff George McDuffy. He watched as the robbers made their way toward him, waiting until they were distracted, then pulled his single-action six-shooter.

Who shot first varies, depending on which account of the event you read, but Manning shot McDuffy in the chest and the bullet hit his pencil case, which likely saved his life. Reportedly, McDuffy shot Manning through the heart, and the second shot hit close to the first. A third shot to the head ended the outlaw’s life. McDuffy’s shots, though, filled the car with smoke and made it hard to see.

Meadors escaped and was reportedly heard yelling at Stoner to run.

The outlaws had purchased a getaway car. It isn’t clear if the car was stolen, they couldn’t find it, or the getaway driver took off, but when Meadors and Stoner got back to where the car was supposed to be, it was gone, and they were left to escape on foot. They were caught walking along the railroad tracks twenty miles from the scene of the crime.

Thankfully, the brakes held until the train could get underway, otherwise the entire load of passengers and crew may have died in a train crash that day.

As for the two outlaws, Stoner reformed himself when he got out of prison and lived a fairly normal life, purchasing a farm in Idaho and leaving his career in crime behind him. Meaders was just getting started on a life of crime. After the train robbery, he was in and out of prison for any number of crimes including burglary, bootlegging, and even manslaughter.

Deputy Sheriff McDuffy was hailed as a hero and was able to return to his home after spending time recovering at the hospital in Pendleton. You can read about the robbery in an article on Offbeat Oregon, or old newspaper articles.

And you can read about Hunter and Luna, my hero and heroine, and their experiences during the robbery in Luna, coming July 2!

She’s searching for peace and grace

He’s ready to step into his next big adventure

Haunted by memories of the fateful day that changed her life, Luna Campanelli seeks a fresh start in Pendleton, Oregon. Life in the wild western town is nothing like she imagined, although the rugged beauty of the area soothes her troubled spirit. An unlikely friendship with one of the area ranch hands lifts her hopes, until she discovers the cowboy isn’t who he’s led her to believe.

Hunter Douglas didn’t intend to hide his identity from the woman he met on the train, but when she assumed he was his sister’s hired hand, he didn’t correct her. He never anticipated forming such a deep connection to her, especially when thoughts of her continue to infiltrate his carefully made plans. As a recent college graduate with an inheritance he intends to use to start his own ranch in Pendleton, Hunter must decide if he is willing to open his heart and include Luna in his future.

Will they embrace the unexpected love that has blossomed between them, or let fear tear them apart?

This sweet and wholesome romance is a story of love, healing, and the power of hope in a delightful western setting. Join Luna and Hunter on their journey as they discover what it truly means to love unconditionally.

What would you do if you found yourself in the midst of a train robbery? 

Share your answer for a chance to win a mystery prize! 

 

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After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky western heroes.
When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

76 thoughts on “A Wild West Train Robbery in Oregon”

  1. I’d like to think I’d keep my wits about me but I’d probably panic. I know I’d definitely be praying! Thanks for the chance to win a prize. Can’t wait to read your book.

  2. I honestly don’t know what I would do! I think everyone would hope that they would be courageous enough to help others and stop the bad guys, but I truly don’t know how I would react.

  3. I don’t know what I’d do. I recently had to shelter in place when the SWAT was serving a warrant to an uncooperative neighbor. Was scary.

    I’ve been on a steam train excursion which was “robbed” as part of the ride, and it was more just entertainment.

    I like to think I would keep my cool and survival skills would kick in.

  4. Hey Shanna! Oh goody! Luna sounds good! I’m not sure what I would do! We have had lockdowns at school. And when I was a bank teller in the ‘80’s we had the FBI come in and train us on what to do. But, mainly it was observational skills. Time, any thing unusual with the robber, be-aware of your surroundings, etc. But never be a hero! LOL

    Best wishes on your new book!

    • Shanna, does Luna belong to Quinn and Walker? I think Luna means moon, doesn’t it? Or does she belong to Lacy?

      I’ve spent almost an hour going back to research Pendleton Petticoats! LOL AND I am so happy Molly is coming in July 11th! Yay! I still can not wait to read the Twins story! Those rascals were my favorites…besides Sadie!

      • Oh, wow, to being trained by the FBI on what to do! Lockdowns at school must be scary.

        So glad you are looking forward to Luna’s story. She is part of the big New York Campanelli family. And yes, Luna means moon!

        I plan to write about the twin’s in my next WWI story. It will be called Sarah. 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy Molly’s story! Thanks so much!

  5. I really don’t know what I’d do! I suppose I’d probably just try to go along with it and hopefully escaped unharmed. Unless there was a chance to somehow help stop the robbers, but that rarely seems to happen in real life.

    • It is hard to know how we’d react until we are in the midst of the situation. I think escaping unharmed would be the foremost thought.
      Thanks for stopping in today, Megan!

  6. Pray and Unfortunately do what they say. Thank you opportunity to win.Can’t wait to July 2nd to read this book.

  7. I’d like to think I’d not cower in the midst of a train robbery…. But considering I was panicky when an elevator I once was on lost power doesn’t bode well for me! And no guns or bandits were involved, Lol! 🙂

  9. I would try to hide. Who knows what the options would be though! Looking forward to reading Luna!

  10. That’s an interesting story!

    I was in a gas station when it was robbed and they made us lie down on the floor. Took my purse and luckily didn’t try for my rings because they don’t come off easily. I got the purse back, it was thrown out in the street. My wallet and ID were still in it, only thing missing was cash. At gunpoint you feel like you have to do what they say.

  11. I’d probably be ducking under the seats, praying! I know myself, I’m not the brave and tough type of girl, lol… But I read Luna and I loved it! Luna is someone I can definitely relate to 🙂

  14. I really don’t want to find myself in the middle of any robbery! lol!! However, if I did, I hope I’d listen to what they wanted me to do, and not get hurt!

  16. If I was anywhere near an exit I would do my best to get out, but if not, I would make as little noise as possible so I wouldn’t get noticed.

  17. I’d like to think I’d be able to pull the my own gun and force them to back down. More than likely, I’d be a terrified mess and do what they said.

  19. I am not sure what I would do but panic and pray would definitely be at the top of the list.

  24. I don’t know what I would do. The day my husband and I found someone stealing from our machine shed we asked him what he was doing and knew he wasn’t telling us the truth. We let him go but tried to remember details about his pickup. I didn’t even think to write down his license number! We did immediately call the sheriff office and gave them the little bit of information we could remember. It was a scary situation since we didn’t know if he had a gun.

  25. I have no idea. I would like to think I would do something but the exact circumstances would make a difference.

  26. Interesting question you posed. Panic is not nor has it ever been my reaction to incidents. As a flight attendant I was involved in emergency situations – training kicks in, remaining calm and assertive comes to the forefront. Having been through numerous real – not drills – lockout/lock-downs in school the key is to remain calm while reassuring students everything will be fine. Things can get dicey though when dogs are outside the door and in the halls doing their job while the lockout/down goes on for hours. That’s when training again kicks into keep a classroom full of students quiet and not “freaking out.” A train robbery? Sit back, remain calm and hope it’s quickly over!

  28. If I had time, get creative hiding my jewelry/valuables, then try not to be noticable like I’m sleeping but listening and observing as much as possible for the authorities.

  29. If I had time to hide what they would want, I would do so. If not, I would comply to their requests. I would try to study them so I could identify them. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

  32. Unfortunately my first reaction would most likely be to laugh, ( it seems that is what I do when faced with emergency situations ), but then I usually pull myself together and do whatever needs to be done. So most likely trying to encourage others to just hand over our stuff and pray no one is injured.

  38. I would probably freeze, my heart would be thumping out of my chest and I would put my head down and pray no one got harmed.

  39. I would definitely keep a low profile and try not to attract attention. I never keep all my resources in one place, so cooperating and letting them have my purse/wallet would not be a complete disaster. I would hope I would be alone since worrying about someone else would likely cause problems.

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