Henry Loftus and Harry Donaldson
Henry (Lorenz) Loftus (born 1915) and Harry (Dwyer) Donaldson (born 1910) were two young men who made national headlines for their unsuccessful attempt to rob the Southern Pacific Railroad's Apache Limited in 1937. The last major train robbery in the United States, the two have been referred to as "the last of America's classic train robbers". Though they were not professional criminals, their unhealthy fixation with the American Wild West prompted them to rob the train which resulted in the intentional wounding of one passenger and the accidental death of another. History Henry Loftus (or Lorenz) was born and raised in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to German immigrant Conrad Lorenz. As a bored teenager living in a small town, Loftus developed an interest in dime novels and the American Old West. This interest eventually evolved into what his family later called a "Wild West complex"; they humored him, hoping he would outgrow it. Loftus was still living at home at the time of his first arrest for burglary. The local town judge sympathized with the young man, suspended his sentence and released him on probation. Shortly afterwards, Loftus' father moved the family to Chicago, where he opened a shoe store in 1936.