Russian Lugers at Phoenix Investment Arms

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by drbuster

Postino, in the past, when mail was carried by the railroads (at least in America), train workers routinely carried side arms, usually Colt or Smith & Wesson revolvers to protect themselves, and the mail which may have contained currency, etc. In the lore of the Old West, the James brothers were notorious for robbing trains. I'm sure that their example caught on with the European railroads as well. Having armed train workers was thus not unusual, especially in the era of steam locomotives (prior to 1950).

And the US was/is much less dependent on the railroads than say Europe...and yet the exploits of US bandits is more popularized than Europeans...but this is 1900-on that these weapons were being issued (or sold) to railroads...Lugers, Lahtis, whatever else...You would think that there would be more known about the threat (perceived or real) that these weapons were supposed to counter...Were there famous European train robbers???

When I was young, back in the late 50's, our primary school class went on a "field trip" to the local Federal Reserve Bank in Buffalo, NY...I recall that they had a floor rack of submachine guns for defense...all Reisings...with 20 rd mags...Another strange instance of arming an institution...