Summary (by AI): I felt a bit weird standing at Bridego Bridge—the site of the Great Train Robbery—but it was a fantastic experience to stand right where history happened.
Blog: I drove up the lane, following Google Maps until I found myself under a fairly unassuming railway bridge. You generally wouldn’t give it a second glance if you didn’t know what you were looking for. This is Bridge 127, otherwise known as the Bridego Bridge, but it is most famously—or perhaps infamously—known as the site of the Great Train Robbery.
The robbery took place on August 8, 1963. At the time, it was one of the biggest heists in all of England; the gang made off with £2.6 million. To pull it off, the men rigged the signals a little way down the line, forcing them to stay red so the train would come to a halt. Once the train stopped, they essentially took the driver out, hitting him over the head and causing some quite serious damage.
After they had control, they maneuvered the train to the bridge itself. They had a human chain ready and waiting to move about two and a half tons of cash into waiting Land Rovers. From there, they headed off to an old farmhouse to lay low for a couple of days. There is a legendary bit of lore about that hideout: while they were waiting for the heat to die down, they reportedly played Monopoly using the real stolen money.
The plan was eventually to burn the farmhouse down to destroy any evidence, but they never did. That single mistake led to their discovery through forensics.
Visiting the bridge today is a bit of a strange experience. There is a railway depot of some sort right behind the bridge itself, and after I parked my car and started wandering around, a couple of railway workers came out to lock up the gate. They looked at me rather strangely. I guess they must know the history of the place, so seeing someone poking around shouldn’t have been too surprising for them, but it did make me feel a bit weird—just standing there in the middle of Buckinghamshire, staring at a railway bridge.
Despite the odd atmosphere, it’s a fantastic place to visit if you want to stand right where history happened.
The Map: