Ocala Police are searching for whoever robbed a freight train this week. The crime sent the train’s conductor to the hospital. Now the railroad company is offering a reward for the robber’s capture.

People at the Ocala Laundromat where train tracks run underneath the Highway 200 overpass, couldn’t believe the crime that happened there early Tuesday morning. Like something out of the "Old West", someone robbed the train.

“A train robbery? That's unbelievable, wow,” Quick Wash Laundromat owner Orlando Ramos said.

“Golly were they riding a horse and buggy?” one customer asked.

Police say it happened when the CSX train broke down around 3 a.m. on the tracks that run along Thompson Bowl Park. Ironically, it’s also right behind the parking lot of the Ocala Police Department.

The conductor says as part of company policy he took his flashlight and walkie talkie and started walking to the back of the train to make sure there were no problems on the tracks.

The next thing he remembers, he woke up with a cut across his face, and his wallet and radio missing.

The train’s engineer says he lost track of time and didn’t realize the conductor had been gone for several hours before he called his supervisors. By that time, the conductor realized they didn’t steal his cellphone and called 911. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released.

Barbershop owner James Pullings says there's a homeless camp in neighboring woods and people constantly crossing the tracks.

“It seems like someone walking along the track saw the train stopped and saw an opportunity for the crime,” Pullings said.

CSX is offering a $1,000 reward in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call Ocala Police Detective Hilton at 352-369-7045. You can also call Marion County Crime Stoppers at (352) 368-7867 if you wish to remain anonymous.