Ronald Biggs, having robbed a mail train in 1963, swapped a British prison for Copacabana beach and was more envied than vilified as a result.

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At Coaley Junction in Gloucestershire, the mail train froze and a fire had to be lit underneath it to defrost parts of the engine.

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On Dec. 14, while he was riding Amtrak's Acela train from New York to Washington, he opened an e-mail that detailed problems in the auction-rate markets, which were seizing up because of the blossoming credit crisis.

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However, the Globe and Mail, citing sources, said it involved a Toronto-New York City train, and New York Republican Representative Peter King said the attack was intended "to cause significant loss of human life including New Yorkers".

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