Thursday, September 25, 2008

The Union Pacific Railroad Bailey Yard!

We visited the amazing Union Pacific Railroad Bailey classification yard in North Platte, NE today and had a great time.

North Platte is the ultimate railroad town and was the site of one of the original "Hell on Wheels" towns while the transcontinental railroad was being built.

This rail yard is the largest classification yard in the world and classifies over 15,000 rail cars a day! There are also hundreds of engines, support facilities and more. To see the 2,850 acre facility, a new visitor center called the Golden Spike Tower has just been finished. Standing 8 stories tall right next to the yard allows you to have a real bird's eye view. There are two visitor observation decks; an open air one on the 7th floor and a glassed in deck on the 8th floor. This is a railfan's dream!


Finally, we dropped by Cody Park to see the UP Challenger display -- an impressive steam locomotive.

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