We made a couple quick stops to see local art.
Used tires at a Truck Stop Arrowheads in Ogallala, NE
Then we went to North Platte, Nebraska. North Platte is the home of the Bailey Yard, which is the largest railroad classification yard in the World. It covers 2850 acres with over 400 miles of track. It's 8 miles long and 2 miles wide at it's widest point. It handles an average of 155 trains with about 10,000 cars daily. 3,000 of those cars are switched from one train to another while they are in the yard. They dispense 14 million gallons of diesel fuel into the locomotives each month. The numbers are just staggering. Mom and Dad went up in something called the Golden Spike Tower, which is 8 stories tall and gave them a great view over the yard. Here are a few of their photos.
A map of the whole yard
The diesel repair shop. Those are all locomotives
to give you a sense of scale of the building.
This is one of the "humps" where cars are sorted onto new trains.
The cars are pushed up from the left side, then disconnected
and roll down to the correct track for the new train. Someone in
the tower controls the switches to determine the track the cars will go to.
Under the red arrow, there are two cars that have
just been released to join their new train.
Panorama - with no zoom. There are several locomotives parked
along the edge in the foreground to help you with sense of scale.
It's immense.
After the Bailey Yard, we went to a city park to see The Challenger. It was built in 1943 and could travel at 70 MPH. It retired in 1961. This is the only engine of it's class that is on public display anywhere. The Challenger is the next to the largest steam locomotive in the world, producing 5000 HP. The biggest is the Big Boy. This is me with Dad in front of The Challenger.
From North Platte, we went a little way down the road and stopped in Gothenburg, Nebraska. They have a genuine Pony Express Station and a Sod House. The Sod House is a reproduction, but the Pony Express Station is genuine old.
Pony Express Station
Sod House
We spent the night in Minden, Nebraska. Sometimes people ask how we eat. This is my dinner of kibble soup.
Tonight, Mom and Dad had Pork Medallions in Pesto Sauce with vegetables over Basamati Rice.
I know some kids like when they get special meals, but I wish I could eat what they eat!
Tuesday, July 24 - Mom and Dad left me in the RV in the campground today and went to a place called Pioneer Village. They didn't take any photos, but they were gone almost all day. They said that there were 25 buildings filled with all kinds of things from American History. They said that if you ever get to central Nebraska, you should plan a stop for Minden to see it.
Mom and Dad finally tore themselves away in the middle of the afternoon and we moved on down the road. Tonight's stop is Seward, Nebraska. We stayed at the Blue Valley Campground, which is run by the city of Seward. Again, if you are in central Nebraska, it's a great stop a few miles off I-80.
Love,
Doolin
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