Canada's Last Great Train Robbery: The Crowsnest Pass Heist That Captivated a Nation
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A stolen gold watch, deadly shootouts, and a cross-border manhunt – the 1920 Crowsnest Pass train robbery had all the drama of a Hollywood western, except it happened right here in Canada.
When Bandits Boarded CPR Train No. 63
Picture this: It's a warm August afternoon in 1920, and Canadian Pacific Railway's Train No. 63 is chugging through the rugged Crowsnest Pass between Alberta and British Columbia. Passengers doze in their wicker seats, completely unaware that three seemingly ordinary laborers from Lethbridge are about to stage one of the most dramatic train robberies in Canadian history.
What happened next would grip the nation for weeks, claim multiple lives, and culminate in an international manhunt triggered by a single piece of evidence: conductor Sam Jones' beloved gold watch.
The Heist: More Bizarre Than Hollywood
On August 2, 1920, as Train No. 63 labored toward the mountain town of Sentinel, conductor Samuel Edward Jones was admiring his prized possession – a thin 23-jewel Elgin watch with dual time zones that had cost him $96, nearly a month's wages. He'd owned it for exactly two weeks.
The tranquil journey shattered when Jones glanced into the lavatory and found himself staring down the barrel of a pistol held by one of the "Lethbridge laborers." Before he could react, two more gunmen emerged: a short, authoritative man with a Mauser automatic, and a big, dark-featured man with a shaggy mustache, an artificial eye, and a Luger pistol.
"Put up your hands, everybody!" shouted the leader.
The three men – later identified as Tom Basoff, Ausby (Alex) Auloff, and George Akoff – had boarded the train in Lethbridge and rode quietly before staging their dramatic robbery just past Coleman in the rugged Crowsnest Pass. Unlike the masked bandits of American westerns, these robbers didn't bother with disguises, barking orders in heavy Russian accents as they herded passengers into the first-class coach.
A Robbery with Unexpected Chivalry
What followed was perhaps the most polite train robbery in criminal history. The bandits refused to search female passengers, allowing several clever men to pass their wallets to women who tucked them under hats and into dresses. Two passengers saved their cash by slipping it into their socks, while a power-company manager stuffed $1,000 behind his seat cushion.
When one bandit approached the manager and asked for his money, the quick-thinking victim pointed to his right pocket containing only 65 cents. "Keep it," said the bandit sourly. "Thanks for leaving me supper money," the manager replied – politely.
The trio collected about $300 from the male passengers, clearly disappointed with their haul. They had apparently expected to find notorious prairie bootlegger Emilio "Emperor Pic" Picariello or one of his associates carrying a large bankroll on the train.
As the train stopped at Sentinel, the bandits prepared to flee. In a final act of theft, the Mauser-wielding leader yanked Jones' precious watch from his vest, breaking the gold chain. The conductor fumed silently as his prized possession disappeared.
"When I shoot, you move!" one gunman shouted to the startled engineer. The shot rang out, and the bandits vanished over a knoll as Train No. 63 raced toward safety.
The Manhunt Begins
News of the robbery electrified Canada. "Not many people know the details of one of Alberta's most dramatic crime stories — the great train robbery of the Crowsnest Pass, which happened 100 years ago", but at the time, it dominated headlines across the country.
By Tuesday, the Crowsnest Pass was crawling with law enforcement: Alberta Provincial Police, RCMP, CPR police, reserve army men, and civilian volunteers. Three East Kootenay Indians were brought in as trackers, but the bandits had chosen their escape route well.
The Frank Slide provided perfect cover – 3,200 acres and 70 million tons of boulders that had crashed down from Turtle Mountain in 1903, creating a landscape where "searchers would have to step on a man to find him."
The Deadly Showdown at Bellevue Café
For five days, the "All-offs" (as the posse nicknamed them) eluded capture. The trio eventually split up, with Auloff heading for the U.S. border carrying Jones' watch. Meanwhile, Basoff and Akoff brazenly visited a dance hall and brothel in the coal mining town of Bellevue.
On Saturday, August 7, 1920, the fugitives' luck ran out. Justice of the Peace Joseph Robertson spotted them through his office window as they stood reading their own "Wanted" posters and chuckling. The bandits then sauntered into the Bellevue Café for a meal.
Robertson alerted three officers: RCMP Corporal Ernest Usher, APP Constable Frederick Bailey, and APP Constable James Frewin. What followed was a gunfight that would shock the nation.
"Put up your hands. We're police officers," Frewin ordered as he entered the café.
"Why for we put up our hands?" Akoff replied, reaching under the table for his weapon.
The ensuing shootout left RCMP Cpl. Ernest Usher, APP Const. Fred Bailey and Special Const. Nick Kyslik all dead, along with Akoff. Basoff, despite being wounded, managed to kill both police officers before limping into the mountains with Usher's service revolver.
The Final Hunt and a Fatal Mistake
The death of two police officers intensified the manhunt exponentially. At least 200 searchers combed the treacherous terrain, jumpy and trigger-happy. The inevitable accident occurred when civilian searcher Nick Kislick was mistakenly shot and killed by a police constable.
Despite the massive search effort – which even included three bloodhounds imported from Seattle (insured for $5,000 and named Dynamite, Lightning, and Dan) – Basoff remained at large for days. The dogs proved utterly useless, leading search parties in circles through the mountain wilderness.
Incredibly, the wounded Basoff slipped through the police cordon and hobbled 20 miles east. His downfall came from a simple breach of hobo etiquette: when CPR engineer Harry Hammond spotted a man who looked away instead of waving at his passing train, his suspicions were aroused.
That evening, CPR police found Basoff squatting beside a stockyard feed shed in Pincher, eating biscuits and canned beef – his first food in 60 hours. When Constable Glover turned a flashlight on him and ordered "Hands up!" Basoff made one final protest: "You crazy? What for I hold my hands up?"
A swift kick to the elbow convinced him otherwise. Tom Basoff was captured, convicted of murder, and hanged in December 1920.
The Watch That Solved the Case
But the story wasn't over. Auloff had escaped to the United States with conductor Jones' gold watch, and the Alberta Provincial Police weren't giving up. APP detective Ernest Schoeppe – a patient, powerful man who spoke seven languages – took on the case.
For three months, Schoeppe posed as a transient and friend of Auloff, drifting through Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. Auloff's friends even urged the undercover detective to contribute to a fund to help the fugitive!
The break came on January 18, 1924 – nearly four years after the robbery. Portland police telegrammed that Jones' watch had surfaced in a local pawnshop. Schoeppe tracked it to Ali Hassen, who claimed he'd won it in a poker game from a "miner" in Butte, Montana.
In Butte, they found Auloff living under an assumed name. As they traveled north by train to Canada, Schoeppe repeatedly pulled out the conductor's watch, pretending to check the time. Finally, Auloff cracked: "All right. I'm your man. That damn watch! I wish I'd thrown it away."
When the train arrived in Alberta, conductor Sam Jones was waiting. As he entered the coach, the cocky, cigar-smoking Auloff called out cheerfully, "Hello there, conductor."
"Where's the watch?" growled Jones.
"Right here," grinned detective Schoeppe.
The End of an Era
Auloff received seven years in prison, and Sam Jones finally reclaimed his beloved timepiece. The 1920 train robbery and shootout at Bellevue Café became part of Crowsnest Pass history, marking the end of Canada's age of great train robberies.
The Crowsnest Pass heist represented more than just a dramatic crime – it was a throwback to an earlier, wilder time when train robbery seemed possible. By 1920, faster trains, improved communication, reinforced express cars, and motorized police forces had supposedly made such crimes obsolete.
Today, visitors to Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, can still see history – from the Frank Slide to a building where residents once watched the shooting that followed the train robbery. The Bellevue Café where the fatal shootout occurred stands as a reminder of Canada's most dramatic train robbery.
Why This Story Still Captivates
The Crowsnest Pass train robbery had everything that makes a great crime story: desperate bandits, a daring heist, deadly shootouts, an international manhunt, and justice served through an ingenious bit of detective work. But it also captured something uniquely Canadian – even our train robbers were polite to the ladies.
In an age when crime stories often lack resolution, there's something deeply satisfying about a case solved by patient detective work and a conductor's determination to reclaim his stolen watch. It reminds us that sometimes, in both crime and justice, the smallest details matter most.
The gold watch that began and ended this remarkable tale serves as the perfect metaphor: time may march on, but some stories – like the drama that unfolded on CPR Train No. 63 in the Crowsnest Pass – remain timelessly fascinating.
References
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Collins, Robert. "Canada's last great train robbery." Maclean's, February 15, 1958.
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CBC News. "A look back at Alberta's great train robbery 100 years ago in Crowsnest Pass." August 1, 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/crowsnest-pass-train-robbery-100-years-ago-this-weekend-1.5669859
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Lakeside Leader. "Train robbery and its aftermath: Crowsnest Pass, 1920." April 18, 2024. https://www.lakesideleader.com/train-robbery-and-its-aftermath-crowsnest-pass-1920/
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CTV News Calgary. "Crowsnest Pass hosting 100th anniversary memorial service for fallen officers." August 7, 2020. https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/they-died-100-years-ago-but-crowsnest-pass-alta-is-honouring-their-sacrifice-1.5053927
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CBC Radio. "Crowsnest Pass: a microcosm of Alberta, where you can still see the past." November 28, 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/crowsnest-pass-a-microcosm-of-alberta-where-you-can-still-see-the-past-1.3498259
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Canada's History. "The Gentleman Bandit." https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/politics-law/the-gentleman-bandit
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Durvile Publications. "Rough & Messy Justice: A Train Heist, Murder & Misdeeds." https://durvile.com/books/Rough.html
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