Historic Locomotive

There is no spot of ground, however arid, bare or ugly,
that cannot be tamed into such a state as may give an
impression of beauty and delight.
- Gertrude Jekyll

Sitting on the north end of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens grounds is the oldest locomotive in Wyoming and one of the oldest intact locomotives ever to run in the Union Pacific (UP) fleet. This coal/steam powered locomotive was built in December, 1890, in New Jersey by Cooke Locomotive & Machine Works of Patterson, NJ. The 1242 ran the Walcott-Saratoga-Encampment branch line from November of 1921 until May of 1954, after which the Union

Old Sadie, engine 1242 on the Grounds of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

The late Floyd Young was the last engineer to operate this locomotive. Cheyenne resident, Alvin Young, is Floyd’s son. Alvin tells us of his memories of engine 1242:

“I was eleven years old in 1953 when my family moved from Laramie to Encampment. My father, Floyd E. Young, was an engineer on the Union Pacific and accepted the run from Encampment to Walcott Junction. The railroad engine supporting that "run" was "Ol’ Sadie," Engine 1242. The Union Pacific moved us into the depot at Encampment. On the south side of the tracks was Encampment, Wyoming, and on the north side of the tracks was the town of Riverside. We had an outdoor toilet which was located in Riverside. The roundhouse for engine 1242 was one mile southeast from the depot. Each weekday my father would get ready to go to the roundhouse, and many times he would take my brothers and me along for the ride. We had a wagon (or a sled in the wintertime) that he would pull with my two brothers and me.

"We were always excited about going to the roundhouse because dad would let us get up into the engine cab while he and the fireman crew prepared the train to leave. Soon we would be moving slowly down the track with the
	Old Sadie on a run near Saratoga, Wyoming

whistle blowing and little boys waving all the way to the depot. Mother would be waiting to take us off the train, and in the case of my older brother, Floyd, Jr. and me, she took us to school. Dad would be gone most of the day. While in Saratoga with Ol’ Sadie, he would pick up box cars loaded with wood, ore, and other products. Sometimes he would receive boxes of honey on the way to markets outside of Wyoming. He knew the owner of the bees and often would receive a gallon of honey (with the comb) to take home. We boys loved that honey! The train ran from Encampment to Walcott Junction where he would place the loaded train cars on a siding and pick up empty cars or materials to be transported back to Saratoga. Once the train cars were on the "mainline" of the UP, another train would connect them up and move them on to their destinations."

"Dad was the engineer on 1242 for more than two years when word was received that Ol’ Sadie was to be retired. My dad was the last permanent engineer on the 1242, and it broke his heart to retire the engine. He knew that in Cheyenne it would

become an attraction for people who would come to see it from throughout the world. In late 1954 we moved back to Laramie, and my parents bought a house at 703 Gibbon. Dad retired from the UP in 1970 after 44 years of service. In the years that followed, dad and mom collected all sorts of western relics and in 1970, they began building a unique metal fence around our home containing historic relics mostly from old railroad parts.

The unique fence around the Young's home in Laramie that later came to the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.

We felt it was fitting after my mother and father passed away to donate this fence to the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and place it around Ol' Sadie."

Thanks to the efforts of Al Young and his wife, Gaela, the fence is now in place around the locomotive. We will be soon be placing a sidewalk and new fencing around Ol’ Sadie 1242 and the Young’s fence constructed of historic railroad parts. Finally the man who drove this beautiful locomotive (Floyd Young) and the locomotive are together. We feel that the location of this engine is a perfect fit because it sits in our Rotary Century Plaza area, between our 1700s plaza and the 1800s plaza.

This is the folk art fence as it now sits surrounding ol' Sadie 1242 on the grounds of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens

There are signs along the fence that tell the story of the locomotive and the train. Also look for the major stops that most trains made across the width of Wyoming that are etched in the concrete as you stroll around the outer fence.

The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens is proud to have created a landscape that meshes the history of plants, people and the landscape. Ol’ Sadie 1242, along with this wonderful historic fence is indeed a treasure for us all.