Golden Spike Tower, North Platte, Nebraska

We had a good time going to see the Golden Spike Tower. Lucy was even allowed to come in and up the elevator to the outdoor deck and the top where all the exhibits were. The tower was named for the last spike that was put down when the two railroad companies laying tracks from east and from the west officially met at Promontory Point in Utah.  The Golden Spike Tower offers the best view of the world's largest rail yard, the Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, where every day approximately 10,000 cars are sorted and sent on to their next destination.

They also had some exhibits about the Union Pacific Canteen and how the community got together to feed the troops as they came through the Canteen.

A community came together in a time when many were going off to war or returning home. For 55 months through WWII, over 6 million officers and enlisted were treated to food, newspapers and magazines, recreation, and a big dose of morale from the women of North Platte.

The person responsible for starting the endeavor was Miss Rae Wilson. She knew that there was a Red Cross canteen during WWI. She was also aware of the unused lunchroom at the Union Pacific Railroad Depot. For the first time on December 17, 1941, 500 residents armed with food and treats, gathered at the train depot. Though the troops turned out to be Kansas National Guard, Rae was the first in line to hand out the food.

At a meeting held four days later, Rae Wilson was named chairperson of the organization, with an executive committee formed to help make the group permanent for the length of the war. People came and donated everything of use, including shaving razors and slacks from the nearby department store. This was all stored and handed out at the Depot lunchroom.

For over four years, the canteen operated in every kind of weather and did not close once during the entire time it was open. From early in the morning to the last train late in the evening, volunteers served an average of 3,000 to 5,000 servicemen. Near the end of the war, that number grew to almost 10,000 on some 20 troop trains on a given day.

North Platte Canteen

During the war, U.S. railroads delivered 150 miles of military freight cars each day. Fuel oil was one of the greatest priorities. It was carried in tankers, in boxcars lined with rubber tanks, in converted gondolas and even in oil drums stacked in boxcars. In one record day, railroads delivered 933,966 barrels of oil to the military.

In WWII, railroads operated 200 special troop trains a day in addition to their regular passenger service. They transported some 4 million soldiers and military personnel each month, giving priority to military personnel on all passenger trains. It was not unusual for civilians to be turned away from a train because it was full of military personnel. Passengers were asked not to travel during peak times and passenger train service was reduced considerably to provide equipment for troop movements. Half of the nation's Pullman sleeping cars were commandeered for military service. In Omaha, Union Pacific established the "Service Men's Center" at Union Station, where all services were free.

The North Platte Canteen became the most famous in the United States. Union Pacific provided the building and basic supplies and railroad employees and their spouses volunteered at the canteen. As trains approached North Platte, Union Pacific conductors would pass through the train, alerting servicemen that they could get free services at the next stop. Among the goodies distributed at the North Platte canteen were homemade popcorn balls. Some of them contained a name and address of a single young woman who had agreed to be a soldier's pen pal. Some of these pen pal relationships evolved into a romance and eventual marriage -- referred to as "Popcorn Ball Marriages."

The Civil War was the first conflict on United States soil that made significant use of railroad transportation. The nation's 30-year old railroad system significantly accelerated troop movements and transport of strategic materials such as food and weapons. The emerging military importance of railroads led to provisions enabling the President of the United States to take control of private railroads in the interest of public safety. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 recognized this need and required Union Pacific and Central Pacific to provide priority transportation for troops and military supplies, a service that continues today.

Based on these precedents, on December 26, 1917, the United States Railroad Administration took operational control of the railroads to move troops and strategic materials during World War I. When the government returned control of the railroads to private ownership in March 1920, the railroads were well worn and in need of serious overhaul.

Private railroads had gained operating efficiencies by the time World War II began, and throughout that conflict railroads were run as private businesses. The railroads moved double the freight and twice as many passengers in WWII, with fewer locomotives, fewer cars and fewer operating miles than they had in WWI.

Rosie the Riveter

There was more than one "Rosie the Riveter." Here is another one of the famous welders from WWII.

We honor the incredible life of Marian Wynn, one of our cherished "Rosie the Riveters," who passed away on October 3, 2025, at the age of 99. As a master pipe welder at the Kaiser Shipyards during WWII, Marian stepped up to build the ships that carried the world to freedom. Her generation proved that they could do it, forging a new role for women on the Home Front. Marian’s smile, her stories, and her legacy of strength will forever inspire us

These are some pictures from the open deck area of the Tower ~~

Another thing that the railroad did was transport orphaned children. 

The term "Orphan Train" was first used in 1854, however, it was not widely used until long after the program had ended. Organizations and families generally used the terms "family placement" or "out-placement" to refer to the Orphan Train. One of the reasons the term was not used by placement agencies was that less than half of the children who rode were in fact orphans. The others were abandoned or the family would voluntarily sign them away, because their families did not have the money or desire to raise them. Some had been abused, abandoned, or had run away. Many teenage boys and girls went to orphan train sponsoring organization simply in search of work or a free ticket out of the city.

Number of children who rode the orphan train to different states between 1853-1910

This is hard to read, even in large mode, but all you have to do is click on it and that should make it easier to read.

After arriving via train, orphans would be lined up in a row to be checked and chosen by families. Each child was given the right to decline a families offer. They would get back on the train and travel to the next town in hopes to find the perfect match.

The First Transcontinental Railroad was being laid by the Central Pacific Railroad that started in Sacramento heading east, and the Union Pacific Railroad that started in New York and headed west. They met at Promontory Point in Utah. The Golden Spike National Monument has been erected to celebrate this undertaking.

In a special ceremony on May 10, 1869, Leland Stanford was set to drive the final spike with a special silver spike maul, however, missed it and hit a tie instead. With the event considered one of the first nationwide media events in the United States, the telegraph simply flashed "Done." Photographs were taken and the golden spike and laurel tie were removed and replaced with a regular iron spike and normal tie, completing the line. 

Special Locomotives ~~

The Big Boy

The Challenger

The Northern 

Sleeper or ties ~~ 91.5% of North American ties are made of wood. Other materials used include pressed concrete, steel, iron or plastic composite. Bailey yard utilizes both wood and concrete ties. Creosote was most commonly used for wood preservation. Now a boron-based wood treatment is used, to extend the life of the wood.

Ballast ~~ Typically a crushed stone packed between, below and around the ties to help hold track in place by bearing the load, facilitating drainage and weed/vegetation control. Crushed granite is used on Bailey yard.

Fasteners ~~ Metal fasteners are more common however cut spikes may be used.

Rail ~~ Made of iron or steel with a rounded I beam. Weight is my linear density, in pounds per yard. Usual rail is between 115-141 lbs/yard. Heavier rail can support greater axle loads and faster train speeds. the length of the rails started at only 15 feet in the 1800s, causing more welding. In the 1920s they grew to 39 feet, and then 40 feet as the length of a gondola car grew. Rails doubled in length to 78 feet in the 1940s to up to 1/4 mile in the 1980s.

What is a date nail? A date nail is a nail with the date stamped on its head. For example, a nail with a "41" is from 1941. Date nails were driven into railroad ties, bridge timbers, utility poles, mine props, and other wooden structures for record keeping purposes. Over 2,000 different date nails were used by North American railroads which show the year. Add to that the nails which tell wood, treatment, and other information, and toss in all date nails used on poles and other timbers, and the total number of different nails form this continent easily exceeds 3,500.

The above date nail was manufactured to be 2-1/2" long (it was cut a little short) and is made from steel wire 1/4" in diameter. The date 18 (1918) is stamped on the head. Note the crude, somewhat faint diamond on the shank to the left of the anchor markings. It might look like a horizontal blob on this nail. It indicates that the nail was made by American Steel & Wire Co.

How date nails were used: when a rotted or mechanically damaged tie was removed, the date on the nail was noted. Ties were never removed because of age, so date nails did not tell section foremen when to replace ties. In fact, some railroads found that dated ties lasted longer than usual because the men took special care of them.

In the first decade of the 20th century, railroads which used date nails drove them into every treated tie. Some lines found the record obtained by this method to be a failure, so beginning in 1909 some railroads concentrated their record in special test sections. For these companies keeping track of only a few thousand ties was far more economical and accurate than tracking several million ties. By the early 1920s, however, most of these railroads had returned to the practice of replacing nails in every treated tie.

After WWII, Europe was devastated and needed US assistance. The American public rallied and contributed over 40 million dollars to aid those in need. The people of France were so taken by the gesture that they donated all things French and placed them in rail cars, one for each state, and gave them to the United States. Nearly 52,000 gifts, weighing 250 tons were included ranging from Louis XV carriage to children's drawings. These items were distributed across the country with fanfare and officials at ceremonies at each state capitol.

The 40 & 8 Train got its name from the rail cars used. During WWI and WWII, troops were transported to and from the front lines by these small gauge French rail cars. They were designed to fit 40 men or 8 horses, hence the name. The cars were stubby, measuring 20 feet 6 inches long and 8 feet 6 inches wide.

The 49 car train (48 states and 1 shared with Washington DC/Hawaii) was shipped to America aboard the ore carrier, the Magellan, which sailed into New York harbor on February 3, 1949, while a flotilla of small boats welcomed her into the harbor. A sign on the side of the ship simply read "Merci America." Congress passed a resolution allowing the gifts to enter the country duty-free and railroads transported them to their respective states for free.

As part of the wheel maintenance program, wheels are trued, or grinded, to help maintain their shape and lengthen the life of the wheel.

The diesel shop features 11 tracks and 40 foot ceilings. The Bailey Yard Diesel Shop was built in 1971, and is one of Union Pacific's largest, responsible for nearly 15% of UP's entire fleet. Teaming mechanics, electricians, and other skilled workers, they are able to handle all locomotive issues from diesel engine overhaul to the changing of light bulbs. The shop encompasses the same area as three football fields and with a shop crew that can handle the repair of 750 engines per month.

Union Pacific's Union Man

Born in Wisconsin in 1841, George Vroman began his railroad career in Indiana as a fireman on the Wabash Railroad. In 1869, he became an engineer with the Union Pacific in North Platte, eventually rising to manage the machine shops. In 1877, Vroman organized an employee grievance committee, and in 1891 was elected general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, overseeing 24 lodges and 8,000 miles of rail. 

In 1879, he won a ruling for the employees in America's first arbitration case between railway workers and their company. In 1887, UP issued a wage-reduction order for all employees. Vroman took the matter to the U.S. Circuit Court in Omaha -- the first time a labor question had been taken to a higher court.  The ruling in favor of the workers represented one of labor's greatest victories. He was so dedicated to labor relations he named his second daughter, Arba Tration Vroman. George Vroman died in May 1921.

UP's President & America's "Rubber Czar"

Bill Jeffers lived and breathed the railroad. Born into a North Platte railroad family in 1876, he caught on as a UP call boy at age 14. He worked his way up the ladder, from dispatcher to yardmaster to general manager, eventually becoming President in 1937. Jeffers was instrumental in the establishment of the famous North Platte canteen that served service personnel during WWII. By his order, the station lunchroom was turned over to volunteers, and the canteen was still operating when he retired in February 1946.

In 1942, President Roosevelt tapped Jeffers to serve as the nation's "rubber czar" during the early days of the war when Japan cut off imports from the East Indies. "Battling Bill" Jeffers brought a Midwestern blue collar, "get it done" attitude to Washington that ruffled bureaucratic feathers. His attitude got results as the nation developed its synthetic rubber program. He ordered nationwide gasoline rationing and imposed a 35mph speed limit to conserve both fuel and rubber. The man who said proudly, "I'd rather be President of the Union Pacific than President of the United States," died in 1953.

Wild West Legend & Showman

Born in Iowa in 1846, "Buffalo Bill" Cody is America's most famous frontiersman. He was a stage coach driver, Pony Express rider, and a scout for General George Custer. He gained his famous nickname by killing buffalo -- 4,280 by his account -- to feed the men building the Kansas Pacific Railroad. He later became an internationally known showman with this traveling Wild West Show, which originally debuted as a Fourth of July performance in North Platte.

As the railroad spurred Cody's rise to fame, it also led to the end of his storied career. In October 1901, Cody's train pulled out of Charlotte, North Carolina, around midnight, headed north on a single track main rail line. Unaware that Cody's entourage consisted of three separate trains, the engineer of a southbound freight train pulled onto the track after the first Cody train passed. The head-on collision killed 92 of Cody's 110 trained horses. While "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" returned to the road more than a year later, it was never the same. North Platte is the site of Cody's "Scouts Rest Ranch" where he and his family spent time between show tours. Cody died in 1917.

The last section highlights the dining cars ~~ 

George Pullman sought to fulfill rail traffic comfort and in 1868, the Pullman Company introduced the Delmonico -- a dining car named after the famed New York restaurant. More railcars began offering meals aboard trains, each boasting better meals and more amenities than the other. Dining cars served as a symbol of the golden age of train travel and are seen as opulent places for rest during a long trip.