(The following story by Chuck Lentz appeared on The Grand Island Independent website on August 23.)
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — A groundbreaking ceremony of sorts for a Union Pacific-BNSF railroad viewing platform in Grand Island took place Thursday, but no crowd was present and no dirt was dug up.
A house-moving trailer brought a caboose from Hastings and unloaded it at a site near the intersection of the two busy railroads east of Oak Street and north of East South Front Street.
As members of the Great Plains chapter of the National Railway Historical Society foresee it, a viewing platform will be constructed there around the caboose.
According to Steve Snook, the chapter’s secretary, the exact location of the viewing platform awaits a “sign-off on which land they give us,” referring to North Western Public Service Co., owners of the property where the caboose was unloaded.
Nevertheless, the chapter is busy planning the facility in addition to the caboose, and there is to be a station-style covered platform adjacent to the caboose, parking and many other amenities.
“We are in the process of completing plans for the project,” said Roger Clark, treasurer of the chapter.
According to various publications, more than 100 trains pass through Grand Island each day on the two railroads, making it one of the busiest rail intersections in the country.
Hall County Convention and Visitors Bureau anticipates that a viewing platform adjacent to the crossing will bring significant numbers of rail fans and general tourists to the area.
“This caboose moved to this location will provide a safe observation platform for those that want to watch both the Union Pacific and BNSF tracks,” said Tricia Beem, assistant director of the CVB.
“It is very exciting and will be an added incentive to bring more rail enthusiasts to Grand Island while also providing a great spot for our local rail fans,” Beem added.
The caboose has no traditional cupola but has bay windows on both sides. Built by International Car Co. of Kenton, Ohio, in 1967, according to markings visible under the car, it was originally part of the once-great, now-defunct Rock Island line. The caboose later became part of UP, which in turn sold it to a restaurant in Hastings where it sat for several years. On Thursday it was moved by Williams Midwest House Movers of Hastings to Grand Island. At 4:30 p.m., the caboose was unloaded onto a UP-donated short section of track sitting on a stretch of concrete at the site.
While the caboose was traveling around the Midwest, a change was taking place on a secondary Burlington Northern line crossing UP’s “overland route” in Grand Island — a change explained by one word: coal. By the time of Burlington Northern’s merger with the Santa Fe railroad in the 1990s (creating the BNSF line), coal-train traffic on both UP and BNSF to and from the Wyoming coalfields was so extensive that BNSF completed in 1995 a huge project to elevate its single-track line over the two-track UP line in order to alleviate frequent crossing delays.
Almost immediately, the location became known as a “hot spot” where railroad buffs could watch coal trains and other rail traffic passing over and under each other.
At that time, some of the 200-plus members of the Great Plains NRHS chapter realized that Grand Island needed what Rochelle, Ill.; Folkston, Ga., and other communities already had: a viewing platform at the intersection of two major railroads.
So far, the costs of the project have been paid by the Great Plains chapter.
“Expenses have been borne by the chapter and we plan to do fundraising to complete the project,” Clark said.
“The viewing platform will give a safe place for people who are interested in photographing and watching trains without trespassing on railroad property,” he said.