Good N scale shops and Railfanning in Nebraska??

[learmoia]

Comment Removed.

[jdcolombo]

I don't know about shops, but rail fanning has to begin with the UP's Bailey Yard in North Platte.  The have built an observation tower just for rail fans to watch the action in the yard.  http://www.goldenspiketower.com  We went there on a trip out west, and even my wife (hardly a rail fan) was fascinated by the action.  It's about a 15-minute side trip off I-80, and I think there is a small admission charge.

John C.

[Dave V]

Train Time and House of Trains...Omaha.  Both are awesome and both specialize in N scale.

Tell Dave at House of Trains that I sent you.

[mionerr]

While the shops in Omaha are ok, try Spring Creek Model Trains in Deshler.

http://www.springcreekmodeltrains.com/

Large inventory, great pricing.

A bit off the beaten path.

[C855B]

Here's a second for House of Trains. Tell Dave "buy-me-a-vowel" Mrsny that Mike Musick says "Hi!"

I've never been to Train Time. No reason why other than when I'm in Omaha, my time to "play" is usually limited so we make a beeline for House of Trains since it's close to the office. Omaha is a railroad town if there ever was one. UP may actually be the biggest employer there, and BNSF's owner (Warren Buffet) also calls Omaha home. Anyway, the synergy seems to make Omaha a bit of N-scale heaven given that they put the "L" in LHS.

Spring Creek, too, if you have the time. Deschler is off the beaten path and away from railfanning opportunities 'cept the UP's Maryville (KS) line. Spring Creek has a great store, but the vast bulk of their business is the trainshow circuit, so if you hit them Friday through Monday you might get to deal with a relative tending the counter who will be unable to answer technical or supplier questions.

There is a funky little hobby shop in North Platte on the main north/south street in downtown - it's a hobby shop and gun store. They don't take credit cards, and all sorts of "Oooooookaaaaaay..."-variety signs about things like "friends pay cash" and the like. I ran into some long-discontinued rolling stock there, so don't count 'em out.

You're in our fave railfanning stomping grounds. The heaviest-trafficked point in the U.S. and possibly the world is Grand Island, where the BNSF crosses the UP on a single-track trestle which makes for a HUGE bottleneck for their Powder River coal traffic. UP's triple-track main between Ofallons (junction west of North Platte) and Gibbon is train after train after train after train after train... You get the idea. Biggest problem with the UP is you're going to have to really like Toasters (GE power), which is what they prefer on coal drags, the lion's share of the traffic on the line.

Yes, do visit the Golden Spike Tower. You're not going to see mainline action from the tower, but the sheer size of the yard and the birds-eye view into the service facility is priceless. They have both open and enclosed observation decks, so if the weather is not conducive to being 80' up in the wind, the enclosed deck works fine unless you had your heart set on serious photography.

This time of year you'll run into weather. Be prepared for winds and temperatures in the teens... uh, minus teens. I tell my friends there that I love to vacation in Nebraska... as long as it's from April to October. Winters can be brutal.

This is "Buttermilk Curve", east of Brady:

[C855B]

Oh... a footnote. Most of the line between North Platte and Kearney is followed quite closely by US30, so it's hard to miss trains while en route. Biggest bug with it, however, is photography, since the highway is north of the line. Low-angle midday winter sun is going to find you on the shady side unless you want to risk getting trapped at a crossing, and you will get trapped. Did I mention the line was super-busy?

[milw156]

Train Time and House of Trains...Omaha.  Both are awesome and both specialize in N scale.

Tell Dave at House of Trains that I sent you.

Me too! A good portion of my stuff has House of Trains stickers on it even though haven't lived there in 19 years.
Rick

[Bendtracker1]

After you leave Omaha, stop in Lincoln. BN has a decent sized yard on the western part of town, Hobson yard.  Easy access from Highway 6, or know locally as Cornhusker Highway 

If you don't mind driving on two blacktops, jump onto Highway 34 which will follow the BN clear out to Grand Island. This is the mainline that runs out through to Alliance, NE and then out to the coal fields.  9 out of 10 trains will be coal drags!

Once in GI, do make it a point to find the BN/UP overpass/crossing, like was said "Lots of trains"

After leaving GI, jump onto highway 30 [The Old Lincoln Highway]  This follows UP clear out to North Platte and the tracks will only be a stone throw away.
First stop, Gibbon, NE  this is where the Marysville sub breaks away from the Omaha main and heads southeast towards KC.

After that stay on 30 until you hit the Brady Curves just east of Brady, NE as mentioned before.  It the only time that the rails actually bend, other than they're straight as an arrow.

The tracks are on the south side of the highway, but there are plenty of opportunities to cross the tracks without getting stuck!  The roads do go every mile and you can always get around with a little snooping.

And the winters aren't that bad out here, no worse than anywhere else.  The winds do blow since there are no hills or trees, flat open plains, what else would you expect.

[Rossford Yard]

The BN yard in Lincoln has a nice bridge over it.

Council Bluffs is where they usually store the UP passenger trains, although in the middle of the yard, and I don't know if it is still accessible.  Lots of good junctions, and at one time, there was a MRR layout in one of the old train stations.

The old BN yard south of Omaha near the river is worth a look. They have an old 70 ft Armstrong type turntable which HAS to be from the 1800's on the north end of the yard.  It is near an entry road, under the highway bridge, so you can sneak in and out, just barely on RR property.  Used to be an 1800's roundhouse down in Arbor City, but its gone now.

Second House of Trains first for N scale. Train time is good, but not as N scale good from my visit last year.

[hnipper]

I know, you said Nebraska, but just in case your visa is good for Iowa, as well, you could go to the Bluffs and visit the UP's great museum. Open Tuesday thru Saturday, the cost is right - free!
The other great rail-related museum in the area is the former Union Station on 10th street in Omaha. Now named the Durham, it has been restored beautifully and is very near Amtrak's station and the UP mainline, as well.

And by the way, in the Bluffs you can also see the Iowa Interstate, and the passenger car shops for the UP's business car fleet. Just don't wander off public roads while you gawk.

Henry

[Rossford Yard]

Did Up move their museum? I haven't been there in a decade, but it used to be in West Omaha.

And, on the road to the airport, they used to have a DD40 and Challenger, out on display, no?

[C855B]

Did Up move their museum? I haven't been there in a decade, but it used to be in West Omaha.

And, on the road to the airport, they used to have a DD40 and Challenger, out on display, no?

UP museum is in Council Bluffs now. Been there several times, they had a high-$$$ revamp in the past year with lots of video- and software-driven exhibits. http://www.uprrmuseum.org

The Centennial (6900) and Big Boy (4023) were moved to Lauritzen Gardens, displayed on a bluff where I-80 crosses the river into Omaha: http://www.visitomaha.com/media-gallery/view/kenefick-park/

[C855B]

The BN yard in Lincoln has a nice bridge over it. ...

It's a freeway, so no pedestrian access or parking. Enjoy the view at 55 mph.

A warning about Lincoln... should you wander downtown to the Haymarket arts & entertainment district and vestigial rail car display behind the old train station, BEWARE that they have private parking enforcement. No kidding, let the meter expire and within two minutes the meter tender will ticket your car. "Plugging the meter" (extending your time after the initial period) also gets you a ticket. Two unpaid tickets will get a boot and a tow. One of the nastiest anti-visitor schemes I've ever encountered. (City fathers/developers are trying to drive out the "touristy" and "artsy" businesses because of expansion of the UNL sports complex.)

[C855B]

... And the winters aren't that bad out here, no worse than anywhere else.  The winds do blow since there are no hills or trees, flat open plains, what else would you expect.

I'll disagree. NDOR* is, or was (I just retired), my primary client. Nebraska winters suck. A couple of -25°F Christmases spent in Omaha drove that point home. Maybe it's no worse than, say the Dakotas, Montana or Wyoming, but that's a really low bar.

* - Nebraska Department of Roads, not "Transportation". Has something to do with the railroads' "ownership" of Nebraska and not wanting the state gov't to have an implied mandate to stick its nose into their business.

[Bendtracker1]

It's a freeway, so no pedestrian access or parking. Enjoy the view at 55 mph.

As Mike said, do not park on the bridge, BN watches that for the city as well and you will be visited within minutes!
I know a few out of towners who've done this and wound up with tickets.

A warning about Lincoln... should you wander downtown to the Haymarket arts & entertainment district and vestigial rail car display behind the old train station, BEWARE that they have private parking enforcement. No kidding, let the meter expire and within two minutes the meter tender will ticket your car. "Plugging the meter" (extending your time after the initial period) also gets you a ticket. Two unpaid tickets will get a boot and a tow. One of the nastiest anti-visitor schemes I've ever encountered. (City fathers/developers are trying to drive out the "touristy" and "artsy" businesses because of expansion of the UNL sports complex.)

Lincoln is no worse about this than any other city in regards to parking, a little common sense goes a long way.
My suggestion is to avoid downtown all together.  Nothing down there but a few old cars and the little steamer that are rusting away since they haven't taken care of them in long time.  A few of the cars don't even wear the proper scheme of the roads that they were painted for.

But Mike is right about the city fathers, everything in this damn town is geared for sports! "If your not here for football, go away"!