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Kearney & Black Hills A historic branch of the Union Pacific Railroad by Franis
Kearney & Black Hills A historic branch of the Union Pacific Railroad by Franis Gscwind
Hard cover with dust jacket BOOK #607 of 1000.
Copyright 1990, FIRST EDITION
415 pages
Indexed
Kearney &
Black Hills
Kearney & Black Hills is the comprehensive story of one railroad branch line across a segment of rural America. Constructed to transport the agricultural commerce of mid-central Nebraska, the 102-mile-long Kearney Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad was no ordinary, lackluster or prosaic line of railway. Although not the busiest or most profitable branch line on the system, it contributed its fair share of black ink entries to U.P. ledgers down through the years.
Born in a spirit of independence as the Kearney & Black Hills Railway, in 1890, the historic little short line officially became part of the Union Pacific eight years later. However, the branch was affectionately referred to as "the K&BH" for many years by citizens and railroaders alike.
Leaving the wide Platte River Valley at Kearney, the line headed northwestward up the fertile Wood River Valley. It then descended into the verdant valley of the South Loup River, to terminate at the ranch country town of Stapleton, situated at the edge of Nebraska's famous Sandhills region.
The annals, traditions and legends of the Kearney Branch touched upon virtually all facets of the American railroad scene, from the excitement of early construction years, up through the pathos of its abandonment in modern times. Long after heavier motive power was in service elsewhere on the U.P. system, the last of the little 100-class 2-8-0 steam locomotives continued to ply their way exclusively between Kearney and Stapleton. The Kearney Branch, in 1905, was the first U.P. line to see McKeen motor cars in regularly-scheduled passenger service, and ultimately was the last on the Nebraska Division on which motor car service was offered. When Amtrak passenger train service began in 1971, Kearney Branch trains 95-96 were among the last of the mixed trains on the U.P. to succumb.
Kearney & Black Hills is otherwise a study of how the branch line railroad once strongly affected the economical and social livelihood of the small towns it created and served. The Kearney Branch of the Union Pacific ultimately enjoyed an intimate relationship with its trackside public, a trait which few high-speed, heavy-.
Contents
Introduction 7
1- The Stillborn Twins 13
2 - The Kearney & Black Hills Railway 25
3 - "A Glorious Victory" 35
4 - Rails Up the Wood River Valley 43
5 - The Hamilton Era 59
6 - The Union Pacific Takes Control 73
7 - Here Comes the "Potato Bug" 83
8 - Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying McKeens 99
9 - Extension Schemes and Rumors 113
10 - The Mysterious Stranger 135
11- On to the Sandhills 145
12 - The Logan County "War" 171
13 - A Tale of Two Milldales ... and a Finchville 191
14 - The Day of the Doodlebug 195
15 - Excursion Days 229
16 - The Great Livestock Rush 245
17 - Running Extra 261
18 - Snowbound 279
19 - Floods, Winds and Fires 297
20 - Accidents and Derailments 305
21 - Less Than Carload Lots 315
22 - Sixty-Five Years of Steam 337
23 - The Changing of the Guard 359
24 - Melancholy Days 373
25 - Sunset on the K.&B.H 401
Stations Compendium 410
Bibliography 413
Index 414
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