Northern Pacific Declares War on Train Wreckers
After rail saboteurs derailed an overland train near Buckley, the railroad management has authorized a massive reward to hunt down the culprits.
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The Northern Pacific management has issued its ultimatum regarding the Washington train wreckers: lawlessness of this kind must be broken up and stamped out at whatever cost. The Pacific coast officials of the road have been instructed to offer a $2,000 reward for the capture of the miscreants who wrecked overland train No. 1 near Buckley Monday night by removing a rail. The repeated attempts of wreckers to kill trainloads of passengers have aroused the Northern Pacific head officials, and General Manager Mellen has authorized Assistant Superintendent Dickinson to go ahead to take the matter in hand and offer rewards sufficient to insure a diligent search by skilled detectives.
“Lawlessness of this kind must be broken up and stamped out at whatever cost.”
Rail safety and the integrity of transit infrastructure remain major points of contention in the Pacific Northwest, though today's threats are more often related to environmental sabotage or system failures rather than malicious rail removal. This story captures the era of the 'railroad detective,' a period when private corporate forces acted as a quasi-police state to protect infrastructure.
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