The RailsWest Railroad Museum
This summer, I had the privilege to witness UP 4014, Union Pacific's restored "Big Boy" 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive, ply the rails of the UP mainline once again, this time leading the "Heartland of America" tour through the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. My portion of the trip consisted of traveling to Grand Island, NE and chasing it back east towards Chicagoland and eventually Momence, IL, where I gave up the chase.
Today was scheduled as a maintenance day, so while the steam crew worked on 4014, I opted to do some things around the Omaha area. One of my stops was across the river in Council Bluffs, IA, where the small Rails West Museum sits astride the connection between Iowa Interstate and Union Pacific.
While the museum is certainly large relative to other museums across the country, it has a few notable items - it is housed in a former Rock Island depot and is home to two steam engines, CB&Q 915 and UP 4-8-4 #814 (sister to never retired UP 844).
The RailsWest Railroad Museum
This summer, I had the privilege to witness UP 4014, Union Pacific's restored "Big Boy" 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive, ply the rails of the UP mainline once again, this time leading the "Heartland of America" tour through the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. My portion of the trip consisted of traveling to Grand Island, NE and chasing it back east towards Chicagoland and eventually Momence, IL, where I gave up the chase.
Today was scheduled as a maintenance day, so while the steam crew worked on 4014, I opted to do some things around the Omaha area. One of my stops was across the river in Council Bluffs, IA, where the small Rails West Museum sits astride the connection between Iowa Interstate and Union Pacific.
While the museum is certainly large relative to other museums across the country, it has a few notable items - it is housed in a former Rock Island depot and is home to two steam engines, CB&Q 915 and UP 4-8-4 #814 (sister to never retired UP 844).