As normal this time of year, I must steal a tiny bit of time to visit some really awesome railroad town. Council Bluffs was the target over Memorial Weekend. My debate team was staying in town for a tournament in Omaha. I did a quick drive through the
"railroady" side of town before the gang stirred for the day. The
Golden Spike Monument was just down the road from the motel so it was the beginning. I then ventured toward downtown to what looked to be an old Rock Island depot before a text message told me to return soon. I saw quite a few great places to return to. There is a spaghetti bowl of track in town, no doubt to redirect traffic in many directions. The depot area looked like a good spot to hang out but alas, no time.
The monument was a little on the simple side. A couple of acres of open park
with a small cluster of trees around a huge spike. Not much else. But, for a railfan or modeler, it was pretty good. Next door was a solvent plant that used rail. Their spur seemed to be the outer limit of the park. Beyond that was a yard tower and an old freight house. Both apparently still in use. I took a few detail shots for modeling purposes. The UP yard was just out of view though I could see one end.
Past here I wondered to the depot. It had a
Rock Island Lines sign on the roof and the
local historic
al society calls it a Rock Island depot. I think
Iowa Interstate runs through on the old
CRI&P tracks. A unit was parked up the tracks. On another day I did see a unit like this one with a yard slug headed into the UP yards. Next to the depot was a collection of cars including a lot to Rock Island and
Burlington.
Across the street from the depot was the modern BNSF yard shelter.
In the vicinity were a GP38 for local work and a pair of
KCS GE units. It was a typical prarie scene. Heat, dust and quiet tracks.
Not bad for a 30 minute escape. I did get to Omaha's Union Station, which was pretty nicely restored and now houses the
Durham Museum. Trains were rolling by as we were inside. UP's business park offices up the road were pretty impressive too. But, that was viewed in passing.
We
passed by "the spike" again on the way to Jonesy's Taco House,
which I spotted on these travels. We all knew the monument was there because President Lincoln owned land in Council Bluffs and the Transcontinental Railroad began there. Debaters tend to know their history. However, the other coach, in sync with the competitor, were thinking aloud that it was a phallic symbol like the Washington Monument as we passed. Young people today! I couldn't help but laugh too.
BC
Yet another debate team road trip to a relative rail hotspot. Yet again, I get almost nothing to show, railfan-wise. I did get to the one spot down on the Missouri River that everyone should see. It's downtown and features a bridge out to the river walkway. The bridge takes you right over some normally busy tracks. Naturally, I arrived at a lull.
The three tracks connect a wide array of yards around the city. The old MoPac Knoch yard and UP's Armordale yard are connected this way. These lines also have connections that cross over to BNSF's Argentine Yard and the KCS in North Kansas City. NS Avondale yard is across the river too.
The bridges are normally quite busy too. The silver lift bridge is the route to yards and industries in North Kansas City. I've only seen UP on that bridge but the BNSF has a heavy presence on the other side of the river. In fact, when you stand on the overlook bridge, you are surrounded by tracks, though the one's on the other side of the river are hidden by trees. 
The large National Starch plant is across the lift bridge on this side of the tracks. Last I knew they were served by a Watco switching crew from the old BN yard.
n the way home, the team stopped at Cedar Point Amusement Park. Like any decent park, it has a railroad. So the remaining pictures are from there. Since I ran a small version of this in my youth, I had to take a few shots of some of the details. The Davenport on the left was on static display and as you can see my "throw down" camera isn't as fast as I'd like on the caboose shot. 
"railroady" side of town before the gang stirred for the day. The Golden Spike Monument was just down the road from the motel so it was the beginning. I then ventured toward downtown to what looked to be an old Rock Island depot before a text message told me to return soon. I saw quite a few great places to return to. There is a spaghetti bowl of track in town, no doubt to redirect traffic in many directions. The depot area looked like a good spot to hang out but alas, no time.
with a small cluster of trees around a huge spike. Not much else. But, for a railfan or modeler, it was pretty good. Next door was a solvent plant that used rail. Their spur seemed to be the outer limit of the park. Beyond that was a yard tower and an old freight house. Both apparently still in use. I took a few detail shots for modeling purposes. The UP yard was just out of view though I could see one end.
In the vicinity were a GP38 for local work and a pair of KCS GE units. It was a typical prarie scene. Heat, dust and quiet tracks.
passed by "the spike" again on the way to Jonesy's Taco House, 
which I spotted on these travels. We all knew the monument was there because President Lincoln owned land in Council Bluffs and the Transcontinental Railroad began there. Debaters tend to know their history. However, the other coach, in sync with the competitor, were thinking aloud that it was a phallic symbol like the Washington Monument as we passed. Young people today! I couldn't help but laugh too.