19th Century UPRR Special Agents by Zina Abbott

 

As railroads were built across the eastern United States until there were thousands of miles of track, crime followed. Criminals became adept at stealing luggage, freight, and livestock. There was no railroad police at the time. Often local law enforcement was inadequate, or missing altogether. Sometimes, vigilante groups stepped in, but they proved unable to stop railroad crime.

UPRR Special Agents-Note special car for horses

Chief Engineer Benjamin Latrobe of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad established the first known railroad police for in 1849. However, most railroads began to hire agents from the agency created by Allen Pinkerton, who specialized in investigation by placing his agents undercover as both passengers and railroad employees. It was his work with the railroads that drew the attention of the government and Union Army during the Civil War era. However, Pinkerton’s agency continued their work with railroad investigations after the end of the war.

As displaced and disgruntled former soldiers from both sides of the Civil War turned to crime, the outlaw era in the 1860s began to ramp up. The first known train robbery with three masked bandits boarding a train occurred in October 1866. Soon, many railroads realized the need for their own police and investigative forces.

Union Station, Omaha, Nebraska

The Union Pacific Railroad began building their half of the Transcontinental Railroad shortly after the American Civil War. They were building tracks into largely unsettled states and territories where, in many places, no law enforcement jurisdiction had responsibility. They decided from the start to follow the pattern being set by some of the larger railroads in the east. They hired and trained their own railroad police and special agents for investigating railroad crime. In some areas, they were the only law enforcement around to defend their trains, employees, and passengers from outlaws, Indians, and others.

UPRR "Bulls"

Today, and starting more around the time of the 1930s Great Depression, railroad police who monitor and protect the trains, equipment, buildings, and tracks around the stations are known as “railroad bulls.” However, early in the days of special agents more involved in investigating railroad crime and tracking down criminals, that nickname was applied to them. As opposed to the railroad detectives in the East, the railroad special agents in the West were more inclined to work with sheriffs and U.S. marshals. Unlike uniformed railroad police in the East, who wore uniforms, special agents in the West often worked undercover. They dressed in plainclothes, usually suits.

 

They carried a shield to identify their position.

 

 Special agents for the Union Pacific encountered such bandits as “Gentlemen” Bill Carlisle, the Jones Brothers, Charlie Manning, and George “Big Nose” Parrott. 

 

“Big Nose George receives a cameo role in my most recently published book, Lauren, since he was part of the gang that attempted to derail the Union Pacific train near the Medicine Bow River bridge crossing. The Union Pacific Special Agent who investigated this attempted robbery was Henry C. “Tip” Vincents, who also played a cameo role in my book. He, along with Carbon County Deputy Sheriff, Robert Widdowfield, lost his life while investigating this crime.

 

Blown up express car

The Wild Bunch, the gang headed by Butch Cassidy, is credited with having robbed four trains between 1896 and 1901. On June 2, 1899, the gang flagged down a Union Pacific Limited near Wilcox, Wyoming—not far from where “Big Nose” George and his gang attempted their train robbery in 1878. Using dynamite to blast the doors open to the express car, they escaped with $30,000. 

 

Posse of UPRR Special Agents who pursued Wild Bunch

Unfortunately, most of the money disintegrated in the blast and floated away in the wind. Their next robbery in Tipton, Wyoming, was also a Union Pacific train.

Another Union Pacific Special Agent was Chief Agent William T. Canada. He was appointed chief of the Secret Services on June 1, 1891 by Union Pacific President, E.H. Harriman. He was assigned to work under the direction of General Manager, Edward Dickinson. By that time, holdups often involved murders of employees, passengers, and law enforcement officers. He had responsibility for overseeing all the police operations for all roads owned by Union Pacific which, by that time, included many more lines than the original stretch that formed part of the first Transcontinental Railroad. 

 

Ed Dickinson

This was the same Ed Dickinson who, as a superintendent and dispatcher stationed in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1878, also played a small role in my book, Lauren. 

According to the historical accounts, Ed Dickinson, along with Sheriff Nottage of Albany County traveled by train to where the railroad tracks by the Medicine Bow River had been tampered with. Once the sheriff determined the crime took place in Carbon County, Dickinson notified Sheriff Lawry, who sent out his deputy and Special Agent, "Tip" Vincents, to investigate.

 

 

Bill Canada

The two men—Canada and Dickinson—organized the Union Pacific Bandit Hunters. Chief Canada recruited only the best horsemen and shooters. Stationed out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, they were armed with the newest weapons and fastest horses. They were often found on a train made up of a sleeping car, a dining car, and a specially constructed baggage car to house their horses. Each team also had a telegrapher assigned to them, and an engine ready to take them at top speed to the site of any train robbery, including those hundreds of miles from Cheyenne. They successfully tracked down their quarries, made arrests, and were involved in several shootouts. Canada retired in 1914 due to his age. He died a year later at the age of 66 or 67.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed writing Lauren, Book 2 in the Rescue Me (Mail-order Brides) series, largely due to my decision to include real historical people as some of the characters. Their positions in real life I used as part of the plot. My main characters, Lauren Brower and Jeb Carter/Johnson are strictly fictional. However, as part of my character being a special agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, I heavily used the information I found on both the real people who lived and worked in that position, and the incidents that took place in Wyoming Territory during the last half of 1878.

To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE.

 

 

Sources:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37066665/edward-dickinson#

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110242580/william-t-canada

https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/safety/special_agents/index.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Police_Department

https://www.odmp.org/officer/13669-special-agent-henry-vincents

http://www.therailroadpolice.com/history