TOP: LEFT: Union Pacifi c 4-6-6-4 No. 3977 is the only Challenger on public display, and one of only two survivors of the class. It is joined by EMD DDA40X Centennial No. 6922 in Cody Park in North Platte. ABOVE: A westbound coal train is pushed by AC44CW No. 5874 east of Maxwell as it passes milepost 268 on the Union Pacifi c transcon. RIGHT: BELOW: A stack train’s DPU glints in morning light as it pushes across the North Platte River and heads east. The U.S. 30 overpass east of North Platte provides good views in both directions throughout the day.


views, both east and west, just east of town. In the morning the light is good for eastbound trains on a sweeping curve as they leave town. In the afternoon, you can get westbound trains as they cross the North Platte River. The bridge has no sidewalks, but the shoulders are extremely wide. Use caution. Just outside of town and across from


the airport is the Airport Road grade crossing, which features a high-tech defect detector. Continuing east, the tracks are never out of sight and there is a nice overhead bridge on U.S. 30 as you approach Maxwell. If you’re heading


38 FEBRUARY 2016 • RAILFAN.COM


west, there is an overhead bridge worth looking at in Sutherland, although it is west of the split to the Powder River Basin.


Check out the two historic displays downtown. Cody Park has the only UP Challenger steam locomotive on public display in the U.S., along with a Centennial diesel. You can photograph Nos. 3977 and 6922 in early afternoon (tree shadows may interfere in late afternoon). Admission is free and there is a nice museum in the preserved station and baggage cars behind the Centennial. Also, UP 2-8-0 No. 480 is on display in


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