The railroad lawmen

The Poplar Bluff Museum tells many unknown tales of our community. I want to tell you some of those hidden tales found within the museum walls.

The museum honors all our local law enforcement agencies upstairs in the First Responders exhibit. There are displays from Troop E of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Butler County Sheriff’s Department, Poplar Bluff Police Department, Department of Defense Police (John J. Pershing VA Medical Center), campus police (Three Rivers College) and military police (Missouri National Guard Armory). But did you know that there are railroad police in our town? They stand side by side with the rest of our hero cops in the museum.

After the Civil War, gangs of outlaws began robbing banks and trains. They were led by such men as Jesse James, Cole Younger and Bob Dalton. The Iron Mountain Railroad (bound for Poplar Bluff) was robbed by Jesse James at Gads Hill in 1874. Allen Pinkerton began recruiting detectives to stop this crime wave. Besides robberies, they were also concerned with pickpockets and vagrants. As America’s westward expansion grew, so did the need for lawmen. Batt Masterson and Wyatt Earp were also employed by the railroads. These new detectives had federal jurisdiction and were renamed “special agents.”

Poplar Bluff was built by the timber industry and the railroad. There was a great need for lawmen on the tracks. Although there were no more train hold-ups, the railyards were a hive of criminal activity. Vagrants and hobos still rode the rails. They would steal from boxcars every time a train came to a stop. These men included felons and even escaped convicts. Sheriff Phillip Kearbey was killed by such men in 1915. Years later, Agent Steve Ray was attacked by a hatchet-wielding madman. Special agents began focusing their efforts on controlling trespassers on railroad property, armed with just a flashlight and a gun. Modern agents became accident investigators. They were on call 24 hours a day. These men were the first to arrive on train derailments. They had to be prepared for HAZMAT emergencies. Agents stayed on scene for days until relieved by the National Transportation Safety Board. On train vs. car/pedestrian collisions, they had to deal with the tragic aftermaths. On occasion, agents were tasked to perform executive protection details for the railroad management and special guests.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Charles Lancaster was a special agent for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He covered an area which included southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas. He was the “lone wolf” for the tri-state area. In 1991, he finally got some help. Steve Ray was a tough St. Louis cop who also spent ten years as a special agent in the brutal Chicago rail terminal. He joined the Union Pacific team in Poplar Bluff. Lancaster and Ray became the Starsky and Hutch of railroad detectives. Lancaster retired in 1994 after 32 years behind the badge. Now Agent Ray was the lone wolf. He patrolled the tracks for the next 20 years alone until retiring in 2014. He had 38 years of law enforcement service.

The Union Pacific Railroad would not discuss how their current special agents are deployed. I’m sure they are armed with more than just a flashlight and gun. Special agents Lancaster and Ray’s photographs are on display in the First Responders exhibit well as other railroad lawmen artifacts.

The museum is open free of charge and handicap accessible. It is open 1-4 p.m. Sunday at 1010 Main St. Tell them Mike sent you.