Western Railroad Discussion > Notes from Cheyenne trail #2: Belvidere, NE

Part of the fun of a railfan vacation for me is just moseying along in an overall intended direction, but having the luxury of stopping for an extended investigation here & there. I’ve passed by Belvidere, NE at least a dozen times in recent years. During 2009/2010 I made several commute trips between Laurel, MT where I was working for MRL & Manhattan, KS where I moved [back home] after retirement. US hwy 81 skates around the west side of Belvidere, and in those trips I had no reason to hop the short mile over to investigate this small agricultural town.

Since retirement I’ve gained the luxury to drive & explore towns and places just for the sake of railfan fun. Many times my explorations have been enjoyed with a shooting partner, but some times they have been solo. Belvidere is one of many such towns I’ve discovered in these railfan excursions. Although it is in the relative flatlands of south-central Nebraska there are enough shooting angles on both sides of town to make it interesting. With Uncle Pete’s main line being a bit on the busy side Belvidere is worth a look-see. And the “Whistle Stop” park here offers a delightful reason to stop, even if you don’t have time to wait for some darn coal train…

1. 2. & 3. UP 5562 leads loaded coal hoppers just out of Belvedere, NE on the east side.

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4. Guest Star BNSF 9094 is the DP unit mated with the 5562. Look close! There’s a westbound headlight way back there…

5. …which is UP 6488 leading empty coal hoppers. (I skipped on into town for this shot.)

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6. & 7. UP 6010 brings up the rear end, with an eastbound surprise poking its yellow nose around the corner.

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8. & 9. UP 5978 rolls east with yet another coal load, followed by…

10. …UP 6754 as its DP unit.

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11. The “Belvidere Whistle Stop Station” stands just north of the UP main & west of the ‘C’ Street (main drag) crossing I have been shooting from. I have absolutely no who/what/why information about its construction…

12. More than meets the eye?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/15 14:55 by santafe199.

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13. & 14. The former Alexandria, NE depot has also been placed in this well manicured park overlooking the UP mainline.

15. Over on the Thayer County Museum grounds stands this stately UP caboose 25632 in well-kept retirement.

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Just one more…

16. Also at the museum, these 2 old reprobates are warming themselves in the morning sunshine.
(16 photos taken near or in Belvidere, NE on August 14, 2015)

Thanks for riding along!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/15 15:04 by santafe199.

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Thanks for another interesting series!

Larry

A Allis Chalmers combine and dozer. Good find. upkpfan

Great series of photos Lance.

Ronda Thomas

To Lance: Is it true that the U.P. stations west from Alexandria are in alphabetical order? I've heard people up in that area refer to the U.P. line as the ABC Railroad.

The picnic shelter in Belvidere that was constructed three years ago was designed as a train-watching platform.

GOOD stuff....!! Thanks....

JoCoLB Wrote: > To Lance: Is it true that the U.P. stations...are in alphabetical order?

The UP timetable (04-07-91) I'm using for reference shows 6 depots between Fairbury & Gibbon Jct in an alphabeitcal order: Alexandria, Belvidere, Carleton, Davenport, Edgar & Fairfield. There are other station names that don't hold this pattern, though. AND... my timetable is 24 years old and still shows this area as single track w/ sidings. So it's likely some changes or deletions have taken place in those 24 years...

Lance