Great Train Robbery (1963) in the capture of Roy James, Ronald Biggs, Jimmy Hussey and John Daly. The trial of the robbers began at Aylesbury Assizes, Buckinghamshire, on 20 January 1964. Because it would be necessary to accommodate a large number of lawyers and journalists, the existing court was deemed too small and so the offices of Aylesbury Rural District Council were specially converted for the event. The defendants were brought to the court each day from Aylesbury Prison in a compartmentalised van, out of view of the large crowd of spectators. Mr Justice Edmund Davies presided over the trial, which lasted 51 days
The Great Train Robbery (novel) On the eve of the Great Train Robbery, another unexpected development occurs: a new railway policy requires the baggage van doors to be locked from the outside and prohibits anyone except the guard from riding in the baggage van. Determined not to further delay the theft, Pierce smuggles Agar into the baggage van inside a coffin, then risks his life by climbing across the roof of the train during the journey. He unlocks the door from outside, thus allowing them to drop off the gold at a pre-arranged point. By the next day, much of England is in an uproar