On this date in 1906, the Grand Forks Evening Times highlighted the exploits of an unsung hero: the railroad detective. Railroad detectives have a long history in the United States. As the railroads expanded across the west, there were not enough US Marshals to protect passengers and freight. The passengers were vulnerable to banditry and conmen, and the freight was a tempting target for theft.
The history of the railroad detective goes back to Allan Pinkerton’s detective agency in the 1850s. Pinkerton met with George McClellan, the president of two railroad lines, and also the railroads’ attorney … a fellow named Abraham Lincoln. Pinkerton subsequently established the North West Police Agency and began supplying detectives to the railroads.
The culprit was often a railroad employee. It was easy for the conductor to under report the number of passengers and put the extra money in his pocket. The detectives often posed as ordinary passengers to investigate such employee theft. They also discouraged union organizers, sometimes by violent means.
The 1800s were called “the Golden Age of the Con.” Train travel made it easy for a con man to pull a swindle and get out of town before he was discovered. So, con men flourished on the trains and took advantage of naïve travelers’ gullibility, many of whom were travelling for the first time. The cons often involved card tricks and sleight of hand. Others were more complicated. In one con, a lovely female traveler would feign illness and ask a gentleman traveler to get help. While he was gone the woman’s partner would quickly snatch any luggage the man had left behind. When the helpful man returned, the woman would say she had fainted and knew nothing of the theft. Books like The Anxious Traveler gave advice on how to avoid such scams.
It was the job of the railroad detective to keep an eye out for the con artists and arrest them on the spot. This hero got some attention in the 1950s with a TV series called Matt Clark, Railroad Detective. It told exciting stories of the Old West as the hero captured the bad guys. And you might be surprised to learn that railroad detectives still ride the rails today.
Dakota Datebook written by Carole Butcher
Source:
Evening Times. “Railw’y Detectives.” 31 August 1906. Grand Forks ND. Page 5.
Veenendaal, A.J. American Railroads in the 19th Century. Greenwood Publishers, 2003.
