Railroads in Omaha, Nebraska , have been integral to the growth and development of the city, the state of Nebraska, the Western United States and the entire United States. The convergence of many railroad forces upon the city was by happenstance and synergy, as none of the Omaha leaders had a comprehensive strategy for bringing railroads to the city. [1]
Omaha was not supposed to be the center of the First transcontinental railroad; its neighbor across the Missouri River, Council Bluffs, Iowa was. In July 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law, which chartered a new organization called the Union Pacific Railroad. It was authorized to build a single line west from an "initial point" at the 100-degree meridian (near present-day Lexington, Nebraska). [2] While the legislation seemed to favor Omaha, in 1863 Lincoln issued an executive order designating the terminal at Council Bluffs. Thomas C. Durant, the first head of the Union Pacific, arbitrarily decided the railroad should start at Omaha. [3]
In 1863 ground was broken near Miller's Landing on the Missouri River for the First Transcontinental Railroad. Along with local financier Edward Creighton, [4] George Francis Train was the promoter who was chiefly responsible for the city's landing the railroad. He was made rich by its location convenient to the land which he owned near Deer Park. Landing the railroad made the value of his property for development skyrocket. [5] The Union Pacific Railroad has been headquartered in Omaha since its inception in 1867, starting with its fifty-year occupancy of the Herndon House in downtown. In 1872 Union Pacific opened the first bridge across the Missouri to Omaha. [6] The historic Overland Route continues to run through the city.
The South Omaha Terminal Railway, a subsidiary of the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, was a spur line established to serve the Omaha Stockyards, which opened in the 1880s. It was transformed into the South Omaha Terminal Railway in the 1920s. Because of the Stockyards, by the 1880s Omaha was served by every major railroad in the country. Other railroads in the city included the Omaha Road, Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway, Omaha Southern Railroad, Kansas, Nebraska and Omaha Railway, Omaha and Republican Valley Railway, Omaha and South Western Railroad and Omaha, Abilene and Wichita Railway.
Making use of the constellation of railroads, the US Army built the Omaha Quartermaster Depot in Omaha in 1881. It supplied many military institutions in Nebraska and throughout the Western United States.
By 1955, Omaha had surpassed Chicago as the largest stockyards and packing center in the world. It processed thousands of animals per week. The packing plants received animals from 22 states, with most of the stock transported by railroad.
The Omaha Belt Line was a 15-mile (24 km) long railroad that circumnavigated the city starting in 1885. Carrying passengers and cargo, the rail was operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The railroad also had branches into Lincoln, Wahoo and Nebraska City. [7] The line was discontinued in the early 1960s. [8]
There were several railroads that went from Omaha throughout the state of Nebraska and beyond. The Kansas, Nebraska and Omaha Railway ran from Omaha to southwestern Kansas, specifically to provide access from the cattle regions of present-day Oklahoma and Texas. [9]
In 1867 Ezra Millard, Andrew J. Hanscom, and Augustus Kountze formed the Omaha Horse Railway, the first horsecar in the city. The Omaha Cable Tramway Company was the city's only cable car. It started in 1884 and ended in 1895 after consolidating with the Horse Railway as the Omaha Street Railway Company. In 1896 the new company disbanded as competitors moved in. [10] An electric car was built between Omaha and Benson specifically to promote that suburb's development during these years.
By 1901 Gurdon Wattles consolidated several of the older companies to organize the Omaha and Council Bluffs Streetcar Company. After receiving a 30-year franchise from the City of Omaha, the company established a mass transit system that covered the entire city, including commuter trains and interurbans. [11] Streetcar lines operated in Omaha until 1955.
By the opening of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898 the city boasted two important train stations. The Union Station was served by the Chicago and North Western Railroad, Wabash Railroad, Missouri Pacific Railroad, Chicago Great Western Railway, Rock Island Railroad, Milwaukee Road and the Union Pacific Railroad.
It also served as the Union Pacific headquarters, which needed to expand in the 20th century. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood remarked on his 1931 design of Union Station, "We have tried to express the distinctive character of the railroad: strength, power, masculinity." Union Station was the first Art Deco station in the country. [12]
The Burlington Station was served by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and later the Amtrak. Other stations in the city included the Webster Street Station, Gibson Station, Ralston Station, Florence Depot and the North 34 Street Station.
There have been many railroad stations downtown and smaller depots throughout Omaha since the inception of the Union Pacific in the city.
| Name | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington Station | 925 South 10th Street | 1898 | 1974 | 2015 home of KETV 7 |
| Briggs Station | 5300 Sargent St (demolished) | [13] | ||
| DeBolt Station | 7000 North 60th Street | [14] | ||
| Druid Hill Depot | North 32nd and John Creighton Boulevard | 1888 | Unknown | Former station on the Belt Line Railway. [15] |
| Florence Depot | 9000 North 30th Street | 1887 | 1966 | Open and operated as a historical museum. |
| Gibson Station | [16] | |||
| Lake Street Station | North 40th and Lake Streets | 1887 | Still standing | [17] |
| Missouri Pacific Freight Depot | North 14th and Webster Street | [18] | ||
| Nicholas Street Depot | North 43rd and Nicholas Street | 1887 | [19] | |
| Nicholas Street Freight Depot | North 15th and Nicholas Street | 1887 | [20] | |
| Oak Chatham Depot | 4351 North 22nd Street | 1887 | [21] | |
| Ralston Station | ||||
| Union Station | 801 South 10th Street | 1938 | 1971 | Current home of the Durham Western Heritage Museum. |
| Union Stockyards Depot | South 28th and L Streets | The station for the South Omaha Terminal Railway. | ||
| Walnut Hill Depot | Military Avenue and Hamilton Street | 1887 | ||
| Webster Street Station | Webster and Saddle Creek Road | 1887 | ||
| West Lawn Station | Aksarben Drive and Mercy Road | Former station on Chicago and North Western Railroad. [22] | ||
| Walnut Hill Station | 34th and Nicholas Street. | |||
| South 28th and B Streets | ||||
There have been many railroad bridges, trestles and other structures to carry railroads over structures in Omaha.
| Name | Location | Opened | Closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge | Across the Missouri River | |||
| East Omaha Bridge | Across the Missouri River | 1893 / 1903 | 1980 | Built by the Illinois Central Railroad. [23] |
| O Street Viaduct | O Street | 1885 / 2001 | ||
| Cuming Street Trestle | 4448 Cuming St | 1887 | Built for the Belt Line Railway, owned by the Missouri Pacific, demolished. [24] | |
| North 30th Street Trestle | 4900 N. 30th | Owned by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, demolished. [25] | ||
| OPPD Trestle | 41°19’39.1″N 95°56’25.6″W | Built to serve the Omaha Public Power District Coal Plant on J.J. Pershing Drive, demolished. [26] | ||
| Omaha Road Trestle | 41°19’37.2″N 95°56’58.4″W | Built by the Omaha Road to straddle Sharon Drive. [27] | ||
| North 16th Street Trestle | 4140 N. 16th Street | 1887 | Built for the Belt Line Railway, owned by the Missouri Pacific, demolished. [28] | |
| Union Pacific Carter Lake Bridge | 4405 Carter Lake Shore Dr. West | Demolished. [29] | ||
| Missouri Pacific Carter Lake Bridge | 35 Carter Lake Shore Drive | Demolished. [30] | ||
| Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge | Across the Missouri River | 1893 / 1903 | [31] | |
| Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge | Across the Missouri River | 1893 / 1903 | [32] | |
Because of agreements and lawsuits between the City of Omaha and railroad companies with trackage in Omaha, the companies were responsible for building and maintaining several overpasses for wagons, cars, pedestrians, and streetcars to travel over tracks. These included the Locust Street viaduct and the Nicholas Street viaduct. [33]
In 1939 Union Pacific , a major Hollywood film, was premiered in Omaha to celebrate the city's railroad heritage. The McKeen railroad motor car was a specialized self-propelled passenger car manufactured in Omaha.
The railroads continued to be important to freight, business and passenger travel into the 20th century. In 1947 the city's two stations had 114 passenger trains per day that connected all across the West and Midwest.
Railroads carried many of the tens of thousands of animals for processing at the packing plants, located near the stockyards and railroads. The city's stockyards and packing industry were the largest in the world by the mid-1950s, surpassing Chicago.
Today, the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District celebrates this connection, as do the listing of the Burlington Train Station and the Union Station on the National Register of Historic Places. Two large train engines have been placed as monuments and industrial art in Kenefick Park in South Omaha. They face Interstate 80, one of the successor transportation modes.
Several major railroads formerly served Omaha, including Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific (CRIP), Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CBQ); Chicago Great Western (CGW); Illinois Central (IC); Chicago & Northwestern (CNW); Wabash (WAB); Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific (The Milwaukee Road) (CMStP&P); Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha; Missouri Pacific (MP); and the Union Pacific.
Omaha was not spared from the steep decline in passenger service in the second half of the 20th century. Amtrak took over most passenger service in 1971. By the 1980s, it had cut back service to just three trains, all running out of Chicago–the California Zephyr to Emeryville, California, near San Francisco; the Desert Wind to Los Angeles via Salt Lake City and Las Vegas; and the Pioneer to Seattle. The Desert Wind and Pioneer were eliminated in 1997, leaving Omaha served by only the California Zephyr. Reflecting the decline in passenger service, Amtrak abandoned the old Burlington station in 1974, and operated from a nearby "Amshack" before moving to a smaller station just 220 feet from the old Burlington station.
Omaha is the location of Union Pacific Railroad's corporate headquarters. Located downtown, Union Pacific Center is the largest building by square feet in the state of Nebraska, and the 4th tallest in Omaha.
Omaha is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city, Omaha's 2020 census population was 486,051.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".
The City of Denver was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. It operated between 1936 and 1971. From 1936–1955 the Chicago and North Western Railway handled the train east of Omaha, Nebraska; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad handled it thereafter. The train was the fastest long-distance train in the United States when it debuted in 1936, covering 1,048 miles (1,687 km) in 16 hours. For almost its entire career its principal competitor was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Denver Zephyr. When Amtrak assumed operation of most intercity trains in the United States in 1971, it discontinued the City of Denver, preferring to use the Burlington's route between Chicago and Denver.
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The Mormon Bridge is a bridge composed of two cantilevers that crosses the Missouri River connecting Pottawattamie County, Iowa with the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska via Interstate 680 (Iowa-Nebraska). The bridge is officially called the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge due to its location on the historic Mormon Trail, which passed nearby.
The Union Station, at 801 South 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is "one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Midwest". Designated an Omaha Landmark in 1978, it was listed as "Union Passenger Terminal" on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. The Union Station is also a contributing property to the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District. It was the Union Pacific's first Art Deco railroad station, and the completion of the terminal "firmly established Omaha as an important railroad terminus in the Midwest".
Little Italy is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska which served as the historic home to Omahans of Italian ancestry. It was the source of many laborers for the Union Pacific railroad, much of Omaha's bootlegging during Prohibition and the Santa Lucia Procession, which started in 1924 and continues annually.
The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was a 90-year-old company first founded in South Omaha, Nebraska in 1878 by John A. Smiley. After being moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa and dissolved within a year, the company was reorganized and moved to South Omaha in 1883. Six local businessmen responded to a request by Wyoming cattle baron Alexander Swan showing interest in a livestock market closer than the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, Illinois. The Company's Union Stockyards in South Omaha were once a fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards. The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was bought out in 1973.
The Union Stockyards of Omaha, Nebraska, were founded in 1883 in South Omaha by the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. A fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards, the Omaha Union Stockyards were third in the United States for production by 1890. In 1947 they were second to Chicago in the world. Omaha overtook Chicago as the nation's largest livestock market and meat packing industry center in 1955, a title which it held onto until 1971. The 116-year-old institution closed in 1999. The Livestock Exchange Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Livestock Exchange Building in Omaha, Nebraska, was built in 1926 at 4920 South 30 Street in South Omaha. It was designed as the centerpiece of the Union Stockyards by architect George Prinz and built by Peter Kiewit and Sons in the Romanesque revival and Northern Italian Renaissance Revival styles. In 1999 it was designated an Omaha Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Union Stockyards were closed in 1999, and the Livestock Exchange Building underwent an extensive renovation over the next several years.
Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, US. It was roughly bound by Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the south, and South Tenth Street on the west. In 1989, all 24 buildings in Jobbers Canyon were demolished, representing the largest National Register historic district loss to date.
Sheelytown was a historic ethnic neighborhood in South Omaha, Nebraska, USA with populations of Irish, Polish and other first generation immigrants. Located north of the Union Stockyards, it was bounded by Edward Creighton Boulevard on the north, Vinton Street on the south, South 24th Street to the east, and 35th Street to the west. Sheelytown was named for the Sheely Brothers Packing Houses that were located in the area. Sheelytown was annexed by Omaha in 1887. The Omaha Quartermaster Depot was built just east of the community across the Union Pacific tracks.
The history of the Jews in Omaha, Nebraska, goes back to the mid-1850s.
Transportation in Omaha, Nebraska, includes most major modes, such as pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, bus, train and airplane. While early transportation consisted of ferries, stagecoaches, steamboats, street railroads, and railroads, the city's transportation systems have evolved to include the Interstate Highway System, parklike boulevards and a variety of bicycle and pedestrian trails. The historic head of several important emigrant trails and the First transcontinental railroad, its center as a national transportation hub earned Omaha the nickname "Gate City of the West" as early as the 1860s.
The Omaha Belt Line was a 15-mile (24 km) long railroad that circumnavigated Omaha, Nebraska, starting in 1885. The organization behind the line, called the Omaha Belt Railway, was incorporated two years earlier, in 1883. Carrying passengers and cargo, the original line was operated by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, with the first line from the Sarpy County line into Downtown Omaha.
William A. Paxton was an American pioneer businessman and politician in Omaha, Nebraska. His life as a rancher and cattleman early in his life, as well as early work with the Union Pacific Railroad was highly regarded among his contemporaries; his success as a businessman later in his life led him to great wealth. His leadership is seen as an essential factor in Omaha becoming a prominent stockyards and meatpacking center. He is frequently referred to as "the real founder of South Omaha."
The Omaha Horse Railway was a private transportation company in early Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded in 1867 by Omaha pioneers Ezra Millard, Andrew J. Hanscom and Augustus Kountze to provide horsecar service in the city. On February 19 of that year the Nebraska Territory Legislature awarded the company a 50-year franchise and exclusive rights to run tracks on Omaha's streets in its closing session. The company was noted for an 1888 United States District Court trial in which they sued another company for infringing on the exclusive rights to Omaha's streets granted to them by the Nebraska Territory Legislature.
Enos Lowe was a pioneer doctor and businessman who was among the original founders of Omaha, Nebraska, and served as president of the Second Iowa Constitutional Convention.
The Swift Packing Plant was a division of Swift and Company located at South 27th and Q Streets in South Omaha, Nebraska. The plant was opened in 1887 and closed in 1969. It covered approximately eight square blocks and consisted of several brick and stone buildings, and was located in proximity to the Omaha Stockyards. It was located on the South Omaha Terminal Railway, and next to the Omaha Stockyards, making Swift one of the "Big Four" packing companies in Omaha.
The California Zephyr is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area, via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At 2,438 miles (3,924 km), it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall after the Texas Eagle's triweekly continuation from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with travel time between the termini taking approximately 511⁄2 hours. Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. The modern train is the second iteration of a train named California Zephyr; the original train was privately operated and ran on a different route through Nevada and California.