George Martin - "An Attempt to Wreck a Train"

George Martin was a labourer, of no fixed abode, who claimed to be from the Dumfries area. The Aberdeen Press & Journal described his crime under the headline of "A Silly Prank", although it was a prank that could have had serious consequences. The newspaper of the 28th September 1904 reported that on Sunday 19th September,

"...he was on his way to Elgin to work when he met another labourer from London who was also on his way north to work. The man whom the accused met had a bottle of whisky on him, and both drank the contents. The London man suggested that they should put planks on the railway [between Oyne and Pitcaple], in order to wreck a train, and between them they managed to put two planks on the metals. Accused's statement was that afterwards he fell asleep by the side of the railway, where he lay until he was awakened by the noise of a passing goods train. Accused subsequently came to Aberdeen and reported what he had done and gave himself up. Accused was 24 years of age and had never been in trouble before".

Depending on your point of view, you could say that George was either incredibly honest or incredibly stupid. The driver of the train had apparently not even noticed that the engine had harmlessly pushed the obstructions off the track and, had George made himself scarce, he would almost certainly have escaped with little more than his whisky-induced hangover. His partner in crime from London was never traced, while George's actions and honesty perplexed the sheriff who ordered that George be medically examined before sentence was passed.

The examination came to the conclusion that while there was undoubtedly "a certain amount of mental weakness" observable in George, he was not insane and was consequently sentenced to two months' imprisonment.