North Platte Travel Guide 2023 | 19
Railroad RIDE THE RAILS CONT.
Address: 1249 N. Homestead Road Phone: (308) 532-9920 OR (866) 338-7596 GoldenSpikeTower.com Season/Hours of Operation: Memorial Day-Labor Day: Daily 9am-7pm Labor Day-Memorial Day: Daily 9am-5pm
cesses more than 9,000 locomotives each month, using technology like overhead cranes and elevated work bays to maintain fluid operations. Address: 4000 W. Front Street VisitNorthPlatte.com/things-to-do/attractions/ trains-railroads/bailey-yard/ Can be experienced by a visit to the Golden Spike Tower.
Other times by appointment Admission: Admission charged
Pacific Railroad Bailey Yard Union Pacific Railroad’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska, is the largest railroad classification yard in the world. It was named in honor of former Union Pacific President Edd H. Bailey. This massive yard covers 2,850 acres, reaching a total length of eight miles, well beyond the borders of North Platte, a community of 25,000 citizens. Put end-to-end, Bailey Yard’s 315 miles of track would reach from North Platte, in western Nebraska, all the way past Omaha on the Iowa border along the Missouri River. Every 24 hours, Bailey Yard handles 10,000 railroad cars. Using a mound cresting 34 feet for eastbound trains and 20.1 feet for those heading west, these two hump yards allow four cars a minute to roll gently into any of 114 “bowl” tracks where they become part of trains headed for dozens of destinations. Together, these two yards have 18 receiving and 16 departure tracks. Train operations and repair shops at Bailey Yard are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fueling and service center pro-
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