I do hear alot of great places to go railfanning in Omaha, is there a particular place where you guys recommend for me to go railfanning as far as to how many trains goes by there and to where there isn’t alot of crime in those areas?
I was there over Labor Day weekend, and found some fascinating places in downtown Omaha and Council Bluffs, but the best place was Fremont, which is about 20 miles northwest of Omaha on Highways 64/275. I found it based on a tip from this forum as well.
Here are some pictures from that trip-
http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=6806
Darian, [:)]
If you don’t want to leave Omaha proper, I like the Amtrak station. It has a platform that is open and the local railfans congregate there from time to time, especially if word is out that something special is due. It sits on the UP main between Council Bluffs and Fremont and boasts the BNSF branch up from the mainline south of town a few miles. The station is a good place to hang out because most of the crews expect to see someone there with a camera so being there does not usually attract undue attention. The ususal trespass warnings apply - so long as you stay on the platform or nearby you will be ok. There are two Amtrak trains a day operated by BNSF: eastbound is about 6.30 am and the westbound is about midnight. And crime is not a problem here.
Depending on how far you want to drive, about an hour north up I-29 from Omaha, is Missouri Valley, IA. It sits on the East - West UP(CNW) mainline from Chicago to North Platte and points west. The trains going through MoValley, sometimes stop at the section house that is situated down town for crew changes (many times, the locomotives block the main public street south out of town). As long as you don’t get too close and trespass, they don’t pay too much attention. The section house is on a public street so you can sit all day and take pictures. Three routes are possible west out of town: south to Council Bluffs, west a couple of miles to California Junction then north to Sioux Falls, or west to Fremont, about 30 miles away. (Fremont is where the lines from MoValley and Omaha join to go further west.)
East bound trains sweep up to the northeast across a nice valley that long shots are good from and Highway 30 parallels much of the route to the east. One of my favorite sitting spots is in a local cemetery in a little town up Hwy 30 called Logan. It sits on a hill on the northeast side of town overlooking the mainline and you can see trains coming about 5 miles away. I took some great shots of the UP U
Are you limited to just the Omaha area? Reason I ask, is there’s a little town about 4-5 hours west (other side of the state) called Alliance that has 2 very open Yards, an East-west and a North-south one. driving either direction out of town yeilds several good parking spots and there’s a train rolling through about every 15-20 minutes. You’ll see alot of Coal on the east-west line with ocassional grain and freight. the north-south lines have some coal and some freight.
If your limited to the Omaha Area, Fremont is the best choice, being only 20 minutes away and the town is railfan friendly. Also remember that if your in Omaha, Lincoln is only an hour away and there’s some good spots in town there as well. The O street bridge over the Yard there is always a good spot (seen may people taking pics from it).
If your more Venturesome, follow US-30 out of Omaha, You’ll find a ton of trackside rest spots and the Track running along 30 is always busy. best spot I found along this line was in Clarks. US-6 Out of Lincoln has some great traffic as well, with Fillmore being a good spot.
Darn. And all this time I thought that I was living in Kansas.
Don’t forget the two museums in the Omaha area, one being the U.P. company museum (right in Omaha) and the other is in an old CRI&P depot right across the river. Oh, by the way, I am also into military airplanes so I highly recommend the S.A.C. museum about thirty miles west of town (can’t remember the exact spot but any motel will have directions), it was really worth the trip. I also agree that Freemont is the very best spot for trains, and they also have a small museum and a tourist road that takes you about fifteen miles out of town in some old cars, very nice ride.
Alliance is more than 4-5 hours away from Omaha. It’s more than 400 miles away. If you’re following Highway 2 (The “shortest” way) you’ll paralleling the tracks so it will take a long, LONG time to drive from Omaha to Alliance because you will be stopping for many trains. Your best bet for train volume is going to either be Mo. Valley or Fremont. Most of the traffic in Omaha will be eastbound while the majority of trains between Mo. Valley and Fremomt will be westbounds.
Happy Hunting. PS. As for warm weather you better be coming in the next 48 hours or so because indian summer is coming to a screeching halt.[}:)]
SP4449 pretty much covered everything. You also don’t want to forget Kenefick Park with the DD40AX 6900 and a Big Boy (I can’t remember the number) near I-80 at the botanical gardens. It isn’t quite open yet but by winter I (think) it will be. If you’re into hockey we’ve got three teams too (junior, college, and semi-pro)… In terms of crime North Omaha is your most dangerous area…I hope you come out here sometime!
Hey SP4449, Thanks for letting me know that I’m not the only person twisted enough to shoot trains from the cemetery in Logan. I always feel like I’m being a little bit disrespectful by doing it, but ti’s too nice a shot to pass up.
well 6 hours tops from Omaha, that is if you take the 91 to 2 route. As for stopping fro trains, the tracks parallell 2, so you won’t be stopping except to take pics. 2 curves way to south then back up, where-as 91 is pretty much a straight shot to it.
Omaha sucks. You should go to Gibbon or North Platte. You want to see Trains,You WILL see Trains.
If you are going to drive that far go to Kansas City. More railroads (UP, BNSF, NS, KCS, ICE), more yards, more hobby shops than N Platte or Gibbon.
Dave H.
There ain’t nothin’ I’d be willing to give for an opportunity to railfan in the birthplace of my favorite railroad. I’m talking of course about the UP.
I’ve forgotten all about Omaha being the birthplace of the UP railroad, wasn’t there a Mo-Pac line going from Omaha to Kansas City? I couldn’t remember if there was or not.
What is the ICE railroad? I’ve never heard of that railroad before? Isn’t there also a Missouri and Northern Arkansas railroad in Kansas City on the former Frisco line? They have so many fallen flag railroads in Kansas City such as ATSF, BN, Frisco, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific and Illinois Central, if you recommend Kansas City what places should I go railfanning at?
I hear alot of great things about North Platte, does the UP go by Gibbon or is it the BNSF?
I also plan on doing alot of sightseeing around Omaha and check out some good shopping centers, how fast does the trains go by at the Amtrak station? I would like to bring a camcorder with me to go railfanning with so I can watch the trains go by on television when I get back from my vacation, what time of year would you recommend for me to go to Omaha as far as the weather goes, I would like to go in early spring or early fall to where it’s not too cold or hot outside.
Iowa, Chicago, and Eastern.
Eastbounds are braking as they are about to enter the Council Bluffs yard. Westbounds are not moving fast because they are just pulling out of the yard AND they’re pulling a grade.
Eastbounds are braking as they are about to enter the Council Bluffs yard. Westbounds are not moving fast because they are just pulling out of the yard AND they’re pulling a grade.
What kind of trains would they mostly have at the Amtrak Station in Omaha? I like the hopper trains and the boxcar freights the best.