Uprail's Union Pacific Segment in Nebraska
Traveling through Nebraska offers a plethora of hidden gems and unique roadside attractions for curious travelers. Among these attractions is the UPRR Union Pacific Segment, also known as the Union Pacific Railroad's Bailey Yard Segment and Great Plains Region. Located in proximity to the city of North Platte's Cody Park, this site is of great historical significance, dating back to the mid-19th century.
The Union Pacific Segment is an integral component of the legendary Transcontinental Railroad, connecting the East and West coasts of the United States. This crucial infrastructure has been in operation since 1867 when the Union Pacific Railroad reached the Platte River, bridging the strategic crossing near North Platte, Nebraska. By traveling east on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks, or west on the UPRR Segment over the Platte River and approaching the western cities of Denver and Cheyenne, the system showcases its connection to a network of routes popular among travelers, especially following completion in 1873 of its companion First Transcontinental Railroad - spanning America.
As one explores the Union Pacific Segment up close, one may marvel at Bailey Yard's immense expanse, which at the time of construction near its parent yards stood out due in part to infrastructure feats in transportation's evolving backdrop of growing freight volumes of that period. It also sets stage for contemporary operational benchmarks at the biggest of UPRR operating divisions, currently termed the Great Plains Region within Bailey Yard. This Bailey Yard boasts a 'hump', creating high speeds in a place where that has no natural slope to produce such speeds using only gravity's influence - significant to this central operational facility in transporting 'cars, yard contents, load planning and distribution.'
Understanding the remarkable history of the Union Pacific Segment means acknowledging great business minds of the time such as Jay Gould, Charles Francis Adams, president of the Union Pacific, their roles during tumultuous years such as a depression, two devastating floods and 1875 to 1890 land trust scandals as this once-bankrupt operation's financial ruin was reversed - amid more general US economic challenges.
Examples of Nebraska roadside attractions along the UPRR segment include Union Pacific's Great Plains Region Bailey Yard Hump Ground east of North Platte and North Platte's Golden Spike Tift Lot Tower in Central Avenue Yard, another historic remainder of an early hub terminal in 1867: one located further north of the most popular main city in its state which is Omaha. The nearby city is named North Platte because this stretch of the main river has just one small shallow 'ford' area - naturally allowing a low lying shallow crossing of it. When one travels the Union Pacific, seeing such spots creates meaning from places originally important for entirely different ideas such as large train depots originally key to railroad operation.
One can delve deeper into related historical sites in this important Great Plains region, witnessing examples of this place's role in travel from land crossing to urban development in early boomtown for travelers - helping, until nearly a mid-century period, to create towns which became central railroad hubs over this extensive region and that the most developed industrial U.S. rail yard the 20th century.
During the final quarter of 2020, the big historical Bailey facility in Nebraska was included as host of a special exhibit created to recognize more than a century of national service history of regionally specific railcars under US flag during an extraordinary special operational railroad commemoration.
The widespread UPRR legacy across Western United States under local state Nebraska was highlighted further in that this region was last marked with even increased nationwide railroad industry prominence upon 2020 passage by the Nebraska governor that of reauthorized its Nebraska Railroad museum support to preserve the role UPRR in that the travel landscape.
The Union Pacific Segment is an integral component of the legendary Transcontinental Railroad, connecting the East and West coasts of the United States. This crucial infrastructure has been in operation since 1867 when the Union Pacific Railroad reached the Platte River, bridging the strategic crossing near North Platte, Nebraska. By traveling east on Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks, or west on the UPRR Segment over the Platte River and approaching the western cities of Denver and Cheyenne, the system showcases its connection to a network of routes popular among travelers, especially following completion in 1873 of its companion First Transcontinental Railroad - spanning America.
As one explores the Union Pacific Segment up close, one may marvel at Bailey Yard's immense expanse, which at the time of construction near its parent yards stood out due in part to infrastructure feats in transportation's evolving backdrop of growing freight volumes of that period. It also sets stage for contemporary operational benchmarks at the biggest of UPRR operating divisions, currently termed the Great Plains Region within Bailey Yard. This Bailey Yard boasts a 'hump', creating high speeds in a place where that has no natural slope to produce such speeds using only gravity's influence - significant to this central operational facility in transporting 'cars, yard contents, load planning and distribution.'
Understanding the remarkable history of the Union Pacific Segment means acknowledging great business minds of the time such as Jay Gould, Charles Francis Adams, president of the Union Pacific, their roles during tumultuous years such as a depression, two devastating floods and 1875 to 1890 land trust scandals as this once-bankrupt operation's financial ruin was reversed - amid more general US economic challenges.
Examples of Nebraska roadside attractions along the UPRR segment include Union Pacific's Great Plains Region Bailey Yard Hump Ground east of North Platte and North Platte's Golden Spike Tift Lot Tower in Central Avenue Yard, another historic remainder of an early hub terminal in 1867: one located further north of the most popular main city in its state which is Omaha. The nearby city is named North Platte because this stretch of the main river has just one small shallow 'ford' area - naturally allowing a low lying shallow crossing of it. When one travels the Union Pacific, seeing such spots creates meaning from places originally important for entirely different ideas such as large train depots originally key to railroad operation.
One can delve deeper into related historical sites in this important Great Plains region, witnessing examples of this place's role in travel from land crossing to urban development in early boomtown for travelers - helping, until nearly a mid-century period, to create towns which became central railroad hubs over this extensive region and that the most developed industrial U.S. rail yard the 20th century.
During the final quarter of 2020, the big historical Bailey facility in Nebraska was included as host of a special exhibit created to recognize more than a century of national service history of regionally specific railcars under US flag during an extraordinary special operational railroad commemoration.
The widespread UPRR legacy across Western United States under local state Nebraska was highlighted further in that this region was last marked with even increased nationwide railroad industry prominence upon 2020 passage by the Nebraska governor that of reauthorized its Nebraska Railroad museum support to preserve the role UPRR in that the travel landscape.
