- Home
- Subscribe
- Email Signup
- Online Forms
- Contact Us
- About Us
- RSS Feeds
- Follow us on ... Twitter | Facebook | Emails
- Today's Specials
Travel & Tourism
Culture
Family Fun
Golf
History
Military
Nature
Outdoor Fun
Parks & Lakes
Recreation
Sports Attractions
State Fair
State Parks & Sites
Wineries
Eastern Nebraska
Western Nebraska
Bailey Yard & The Golden Spike Tower
As the home of the world’s largest railroad classification yard, North Platte offers many attractions for those who want to learn more about trains and how the railroad industry has helped to shape our nation.
One of North Platte’s newest attractions is the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center. The tower features two observation decks, offering a panoramic view of Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard from 100 feet above the ground.
Named in honor of former UP President Edd H. Bailey, this classification yard covers 2,850 acres over an eight-mile stretch. That’s enough room for 2,800 football fields. Each day, some 10,000 railroad cars come through Bailey Yard.
The Golden Spike’s eighth-floor enclosed deck offers a great view of the yard and features several coin-operated binoculars.
The seventh floor open-air observation deck gives visitors an opportunity to feel and hear the action going on below.
The viewing floors are accessible by elevator or via stairs that lead up to each landing. A single story depot-style building, which is the main entrance for the tower, houses the visitor center and gift shop.
From May through September, the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center is open from 9 a. m. to 7 p. m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 7 p. m. on Sunday. From October through April, the center is open from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p. m. on Sunday. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $5 per person for groups of 15 or more and $4 for students ages 6 to 16. Kids under 6 years of age are free.
A few miles to the east (and across the tracks) is the Cody Park Railroad Museum. This seasonal attraction allows railroad fans to get an up-close look at a real locomotive and a fully-restored train depot.
This museum features Union Pacific’s Challenger 3977, which is one of the largest steam locomotives ever built. This steam locomotive is just one of 105 built by the American Locomotive Company of New York.
Also on display at Cody Park is UP’s DD40AX, No. 6922, which was built by the electro-motor division of General Motors. At the time, these locomotives were touted as the “World’s Most Powerful Land Vehicle.”
The Cody Park Railroad Museum also features a baggage car, mail car, caboose and semaphore block signal. Visitors can also see a fully restored train depot from Hershey, Neb., filled with memorabilia and educational displays.
The museum at Cody Park is free of charge and is open in May through September from 10 a. m. to 8 p. m. each day.
To go farther back in railroad history, stop by Memorial Park in North Platte and check out Union Pacific’s No. 480, a C-57 class locomotive. Built in 1903, this steam locomotive held 7,000 gallons of water and 28,000 pounds of coal when in service.
