Escape by freight train?

[Jonathan H]

Only to reiterate, Adam, that if Macnaghten acted about the Ripper as every primary claims he acted about everything else, eg. obsessive, thorough, discreet -- and as he himself claimed he acted on 'secret information' in 1913, and then confirmed in his 1914 memoirs -- then he would have gladly exonerated Druitt if it was as simple as a cricket match alibi.

Yet, rightly or wrongly, Mac 'believed' that Druitt was the fiend.

The preface of those memoirs suggestively juxtaposes championship cricket, Jack the Ripper, and an apologia for 'inaccuracies'.

[Adam Went]

Have to agree with GM, it's a plausible scenario and good, out-of-the-square thinking by yourself, K-453, but not the most likely scenario when weighed up against some others. Although it blends in nicely with discussions over the idea of Druitt being the killer and having to transport himself from Spitalfields to Blackheath in time to start his cricket match on September 8 - also a plausible but unlikely scenario....(I sense Jonathan H looming )

Cheers,
Adam.

[The Grave Maurice]

Hi K,

I don't know about the paranoia part, but there certainly weren't door-to-door searches after every murder. There was only one area inquiry that I know of, and that was conducted in daylight. However the police did stop "suspicious" men on the streets during some of the nights in question, so the best thing JtR could have done for his own safety was get home as quickly as possible.

And let's bear in mind the times of the murders (at least the C5). Nichols, Chapman, and Kelly were killed (and I'm just giving rough times here) between 3:30 and 5:30 am. By the time he had found and taken a train out of town, it would have been time to come back. Stride and Eddowes were killed early enough for JtR to catch a train but, again, I question what advantage he would gain. As long as he was off the streets, he didn't have much to worry about. Far wiser simply to go home.

[K-453]

@ Adam Went: Buck’s Row bridged a railroad track with a freight train passing by at 3.30 AM the night of Polly’s murder. Too early, but it gave me the idea.

@ The Grave Maurice: Going home was surely more comfortable, but what if his way was blocked by all the cops searching for him? Weren’t there door-to-door searches?
Or maybe some attack of paranoia made him want to flee the city – who knows.
It is not a pet theory of mine, I’m just wondering.

[The Grave Maurice]

It may have been possible, but I don't see the point. I mean, all he had to do was go home (wherever that was) and go to sleep. Would there be any advantage in his leaving town overnight?

[Adam Went]

The most important question in regards to a theory like that would be the times the freight cars ran in relation to the times of the murders, and exactly where the freight cars ran in relation to the murder scenes? I'm not sure about the answer to these questions but I don't know of any freight rails that were close by......interesting scenario though.

Cheers,
Adam.

[K-453]

Could this have been possible?
“Jack” is climbing on a standing or still only slowly moving freight train after committing one of his murders and then speeding off to the countryside, while the police are turning the city upside down. At daylight, he returns.
Were the trains checked before they were allowed to leave the city?