Bad Iron: The Wreck Report on the Texas Train Robbers

By Tobin Scott

FORGET THE BALLAD.
In the spring of 1878, Sam Bass and his gang hit four trains outside Dallas and set
off the biggest manhunt in Texas history. The songs call it glory. The record calls it
a slow-motion train wreck.
They slept in flooded creek bottoms under blankets that never dried. They drank
coffee that tasted like boiled creosote. They rode horses that bolted at the first
gunshot. They robbed express cars for pocket change while the messengers hid the
real money in the stove. And a trusted friend was quietly writing leters to the
Texas Rangers.
Using the Wreck Report Protocol, Tobin Scott tears down the legend rivet by rivet,
inspecting the roadbed, auditing the firebox, and testing the boiler of a gang that
was doomed long before it reached Round Rock.
This isn't a legend. It's a crash investigation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HM4Z6DMN
• ISBN13: 9798160642772
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 130 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"