Western Railroad Discussion > Why are you hiding from me?

It’s amazing how ignorant a railfan can be about RR trackage that is virtually right under his nose. Getting into railfan photography in the mid-70s in Manhattan I naturally made a few treks up to Lincoln, NE to see the huge BN terminal and all that goes with it. Driving along the route I completely ignored 2 key RR lines I should have been concentrating on: UP’s secondary main line between Marysville & Valley on that BIG main line up yonder. And the BN line from Wymore through Beatrice up to Crete on the Lincoln ~ McCook main line. For the longest time I thought the line passing under US hwy 77 in Beatrice was the UP line up from Marysville instead of the BN Wymore branch it actually was. Complicating my ignorance was the fact that in all those trips up to Lincoln I never saw one single train on any track in that Marysville ~ Beatrice ~ Lincoln corridor. So other than looking at a RR atlas I thought I had no need for, I never had any visual way of learning the correct details.

That all changed a few years back, when I posted a shot of Uncle Pete’s... (excuse me) BN’s old bridge over the Big Blue River. In calling it a UP bridge in that thread I was very quickly corrected by a couple of friends from Husker Nation... :^)

This past July I happened to catch a train on that very track. Now BNSF, of course. It appeared to be a unit grainer ready to roll north, but had no crew aboard. It was quite an effort just to get some pics, as you can see. And image #4 let me know just how old & badly out of shape I’m getting...

1. Taken from the gulch” behind the Rolla-Rena Skate Center on S 6th St/US-77. I nearly had to crawl my way down to track level. Climbing back up was no picnic, either! (see image #4)

2. Taken from the Marlborough Avenue overpass. Obstacles galore!

3. Here’s the rear end of the train just north of E Lilac Rd.

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One more, even if it is a bit embarrassing...

4. After getting image #1 here’s the path back up to my rig. My 66 year old legs were screaming bloody murder... ;^)
(4 photos taken July 19, 2021 in Beatrice, NE)

Thanks for finally showing up (sorta)!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Love #1! Sorry about the legs but definitely worth it.

Cause it did not want its picture taken doing nuthin !

I spent a good part of my "growing up" years about 2 blocks from your first couple of shots.  It was much more open then!  Got good memories of 2 passenger trains a day, 2 freights, a mixed, and some extras on the old Q.  We lived there in the late fifties when the St. Joe, Wymore, Crete, Lincoln passenger assignment included the Pioneer Zephyr in the afternoons.

Thanks for posting!

DJ SirL:

In your exploration of the BNSF line to Crete, did you follow the Tarkio Road? As made legendary by Brewer & Shipley.

Moving on down the Tarkio Road
Headed up to Crete, Nebraska
Trying my best to set the highway on fire
But my bicycle won't go no faster