Ames Monument on top of original line over the Rocikes, now bypassed. Some would argue that the Ames brothers financial participation was crucial to getting the UP built. Oliver was an early president IIRC. Is a three or four mile detour from I-80. Stop at the UP Depot in Cheyene for directions.
CJtrainguy Council Bluffs, IA — Rails West Museum in ex-Rock Island depot, with outdoor equipment exhibit, Union Pacific Museum downtown, Golden Spike monument, Dodge house (home of General Dodge who planned the transcon route for the Union Pacific - house open for tours), lots of railroad activity Omaha — Union Station is now the Durham Museum and well worth a visit. Lots of railroad activity.
Council Bluffs, IA — Rails West Museum in ex-Rock Island depot, with outdoor equipment exhibit, Union Pacific Museum downtown, Golden Spike monument, Dodge house (home of General Dodge who planned the transcon route for the Union Pacific - house open for tours), lots of railroad activity
Omaha — Union Station is now the Durham Museum and well worth a visit. Lots of railroad activity.
Also in Omaha is the park with the Big Boy and DD40AX.
Be sure to drive a good stretch on US 30 in Nebraska. A stop in Grand Island NE is worth it, too. It's quite the "hot spot".
Grand Island
Then, there's this:
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Thanks Mike, Mike, & aricat for helping me make this trip of a lifetime even better!
I would plan a stop in Galesburg Illinois. They have a very good railroad museum and lots of trains you can watch from its parking lot. You could spend several hours here. I would choose Galesburg rather than Ft Madison Iowa. I assume you are driving I-80 and Galesburg is 32 miles south of the Quad Cities on I-74. You will find that both the BNSF and UP mains across Iowa are both very busy. US 30 roughly follows the UP and US 34 roughly follows the BNSF.
If you are a Rio Grande fan, or a classic era fan, visit Minturn, Colorado. It is only about a mile south of I-70 on US-24, just past Vail. It is a mothballed helper station/yard, but it could disappear at anytime.
Not familiar with much east of North Platte, but here are a few things that come to mind:
- North Platte (overnight) After a visit to the Golden Spike Tower and Bailey Yard, drive west along US 30 that parallels the triple track. At Big Springs take I-76 or US 138 (Brush sub) to the Denver area.
- Golden (overnight) The state RR museum, Big Ten curve, and Moffat tunnel are close by. Take I-70 through Glenwood canyon - natural scenery, RR and elevated freeway are all spectacular.
- Green River (overnight) Follow US 6 by the ex-D&GRW over Soldier Summit. Continue on I-15 and I-80 through SLC - two great depots to see downtown.
- West Wendover (overnight) Silver Zone Pass and the Arnold loop are nearby on the ex-WP Shafter sub but I have no idea (yet) about road access. Probably not much traffic to see between Wells and Reno.
- Reno (overnight) Besides the infamous Reno trench, the National Automotive Museum has part of the late Bill Harris's extensive collection (no locomotives AFAIK). See the recent topic about the beautiful drive through Truckee and over Donner Pass for RR related sights. The UP Roseville yard also is quite large.
- Sacramento (overnight) Be sure to see the California State Railroad Museum before you return.
Possibly more to follow ....
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
I'm planning a run this late Oct./early Nov. to deliver an ailing buddy's car to him from CT to Sacramento (if it hasn't burned yet.) I'm thinking roughly a week and a half (about 300+ mi/day) and overnite stops in Creesson PA, Fostoria OH, Chicagoland/Rochelle IL, Ft Madison IA, No Platte NE, etc. Any thoughts or suggestions to get the most out of this? Thanks in advance!
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