Charlestown (historical)

"Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. "

If you met these qualifications you could be employed as a Pony Express rider making $100.00 a month. Unfortunately, it was a job that lasted only 18 months (April 1860 - October 1861) because of the completion of the Transcontinental Telegraph.

We visited an impressive monument in Sydney, Nebraska dedicated to these fearless young men.

William Cody (Buffalo Bill) started out his young life as a Pony Express rider. He went on to join the Union cause in the Civil War. Later he acted as a civilian scout for the army and helped feed the workers on the Transcontinental Railroad by shooting many bison that roamed the Plains.

We all remember him for the Wild West show he put together along with Annie Oakley and hundreds of other performers. They toured all over the United States, Great Britain and Europe.

Bill had a beautiful ranch built in North Platte, Nebraska to use for relaxation. We visited there today and stood next to some modern day buffalo.

I wonder what their thoughts would be if they knew how William Cody got his nickname.

You can't swing a dead cat - as the expression goes - without seeing a Union Pacific train out here. And North Platte was/is the center of it all.

We rode an elevator to the top of The Golden Spike Tower to view the world's largest rail yard - Union Pacific's Bailey Yard. It is a Hump Yard - Google it - where they Sort, Service and Repair the trains. It covers 2,850 acres and is eight miles in length.

Pretty darn impressive.Read more