In the heart of America there is a super-highway paved with steel running between North Platte and Gibbon Junction, Nebraska.
It is known as the Kearney Subdivision and
historically it has seen well over 100 trains per day. Traffic may be
down from the line’s heyday in the early and mid-2000’s, yet this is
still a fantastic place to watch trains.
This program begins with a nighttime visit to
the Golden Spike Tower as a summertime thunderstorm lights up Bailey
Yard. We then turn east through Maxwell, the Buttermilk Curves,
Gothenburg, Lexington, Kearney, Gibbon Junction, and many other noted
locations before wrapping up at the BNSF flyover at Grand Island.
Dominating the scene are monster double-coal
trains that measure up to three miles in length, running to and from
Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. In addition to coal are mixed manifests,
hot-shot intermodals, and locals that service industry found along the
route.
Along with cameras on the ground, aerial
coverage of the Buttermilk Curves and Gibbon Junction gives a whole new
perspective to this amazing line.
