Panne
Race Dog
A couple of months ago, I felt like a quick ride on a Saturday morning. At a whim, I decided to take the railway service roads along the route where the biggest train robbery in South African crime history took place just outside Polokwane, nearly 25 years ago.
As you will read later on, these robbers were not the sharpest tools in the shed and they were all arrested about 3 months after they committed their crime.
The robbery took place between Eerstegoud station and Geyser station, a distance of roughly 14km. Joseph van Dyk Janse van Vuuren, Stefanus Johannes van Greunen and Hermanus Johannes de Neysschen managed to get away with mail bags containing R 1,424,400 (worth between R14 million and R17 million in today’s terms). :eek7:
Train’s route from Eerstegoud to Geyser
Van Vuuren worked at the then Barclays Bank in Polokwane and had reliable information on how cash was transported to Pretoria. He also took a number of trips on the train beforehand, noting times of arrival and departure at the various stations.
On the night of 3 December 1985, Van Vuuren and Van Greunen got onto the train at Eerstegoud station but could only get inside the conductors wagon when the train had reached the Sandrivier station.
Station where Van Vuuren and Van Greunen got on
Station where they managed to get inside the train
Railway line at Sandrivier station (facing in Pretoria’s direction)
Once they managed to get inside the conductors wagon, the two “Vans” held Robert Slipper, a trainee conductor, and William Ramphala, a porter, at gunpoint. Slipper was so frightened by them that he jumped from the moving train and subsequently died :-\. During the trial, Ramphala testified that he also considered jumping but Van Greunen prevented him from doing so and then handcuffed him.
Meanwhile, De Neysschen was waiting for them with their getaway vehicle at Geyser station.
Station where De Neysschen was waiting
When they reached Geyser station, they threw the bags from the train and were picked up by De Neysschen.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I don’t think these guys were the cleverest out there. They would in all likelihood have gotten away with it because police were completely stumped at the beginning of the investigation. However, they went on a spending spree of note almost immediately after stealing the money.
Van Vuuren paid R13,000 in cash as a deposit on a house and gave R30,000 to his brother who went on and bought two brand new BMW 735’s. His brother was in financial trouble at the time and his newly found wealth raised some eyebrows. Someone conveyed this to the police and the rest, as they say, is history.
Van Greunen visited Sun City for a weekend and also went to Durban for a week’s holiday. He spent about R17,000 of his cut.
De Neysschen, who was a farmer, also bought a BMW, a tractor and farming implements. He also blew R5,000 during two visits to Sun City.
All three men were found guilty of robbery and culpable homicide. :thumleft:
Source:
https://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1986/06/24/1/4.html
https://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1986/06/25/6/21.html
https://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1986/06/28/4/15.html
As you will read later on, these robbers were not the sharpest tools in the shed and they were all arrested about 3 months after they committed their crime.
The robbery took place between Eerstegoud station and Geyser station, a distance of roughly 14km. Joseph van Dyk Janse van Vuuren, Stefanus Johannes van Greunen and Hermanus Johannes de Neysschen managed to get away with mail bags containing R 1,424,400 (worth between R14 million and R17 million in today’s terms). :eek7:
Train’s route from Eerstegoud to Geyser
Van Vuuren worked at the then Barclays Bank in Polokwane and had reliable information on how cash was transported to Pretoria. He also took a number of trips on the train beforehand, noting times of arrival and departure at the various stations.
On the night of 3 December 1985, Van Vuuren and Van Greunen got onto the train at Eerstegoud station but could only get inside the conductors wagon when the train had reached the Sandrivier station.
Station where Van Vuuren and Van Greunen got on
Station where they managed to get inside the train
Railway line at Sandrivier station (facing in Pretoria’s direction)
Once they managed to get inside the conductors wagon, the two “Vans” held Robert Slipper, a trainee conductor, and William Ramphala, a porter, at gunpoint. Slipper was so frightened by them that he jumped from the moving train and subsequently died :-\. During the trial, Ramphala testified that he also considered jumping but Van Greunen prevented him from doing so and then handcuffed him.
Meanwhile, De Neysschen was waiting for them with their getaway vehicle at Geyser station.
Station where De Neysschen was waiting
When they reached Geyser station, they threw the bags from the train and were picked up by De Neysschen.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I don’t think these guys were the cleverest out there. They would in all likelihood have gotten away with it because police were completely stumped at the beginning of the investigation. However, they went on a spending spree of note almost immediately after stealing the money.
Van Vuuren paid R13,000 in cash as a deposit on a house and gave R30,000 to his brother who went on and bought two brand new BMW 735’s. His brother was in financial trouble at the time and his newly found wealth raised some eyebrows. Someone conveyed this to the police and the rest, as they say, is history.
Van Greunen visited Sun City for a weekend and also went to Durban for a week’s holiday. He spent about R17,000 of his cut.
De Neysschen, who was a farmer, also bought a BMW, a tractor and farming implements. He also blew R5,000 during two visits to Sun City.
All three men were found guilty of robbery and culpable homicide. :thumleft:
Source:
https://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1986/06/24/1/4.html
https://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1986/06/25/6/21.html
https://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1986/06/28/4/15.html
