In remote areas of Albany County, Wyoming, passenger trains carrying mail, payroll monies, and express deliveries were tempting targets for bandits. On June 2, 1899, the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 was flagged down near Wilcox Station, east of Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Two masked men boarded the train and ordered the engineer to uncouple the passenger cars. The engine, pulling the express and mail cars, was then moved two miles further down the line, where other members of the gang were waiting. When Union Pacific express messenger Charles Woodcock refused to open the express car, the bandits dynamited the door, knocking Woodcock nearly unconscious. Unable to open the safe, the robbers set another charge, mis-calculating the amount of dynamite needed. The ensuing explosion not only blew open the safe, but also the sides and roof of the express car. The thieves made off with approximately $50,000.00. The Wilcox robbery was attributed to members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch Gang, all but one of whom eluded capture for the crime.
One of the most famous Wyoming train bandits is Bill Carlisle. In 1916, Carlisle was sentenced to life in prison for robbing three Union Pacific trains. Three years later, he escaped from the Wyoming Penitentiary. Soon after his escape, Carlisle robbed another Union Pacific train near Rock River, Wyoming. Carlisle was shot in the arm by the brakeman in the course of the robbery. He sustained a second gunshot wound at the time of his capture. Known for never robbing women, children and soldiers, Carlisle, Wyoming's "Gentleman Bandit," was returned to prison. He was paroled in 1936 and pardoned by Governor Lester Hunt in 1947. After his parole, Carlisle became a model citizen, married the nurse who treated him for his wounds, and earned his living as a successful businessman in Laramie, Wyoming.
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