Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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In the heart of America there is a super-highway paved with steel running between North Platte and Gibbon Junction, Nebraska.

It is known as the Kearney Subdivision and historically it has seen well over 100 trains per day. Traffic may be down from the line’s heyday in the early and mid-2000’s, yet this is still a fantastic place to watch trains.

This program begins with a nighttime visit to the Golden Spike Tower as a summertime thunderstorm lights up Bailey Yard. We then turn east through Maxwell, the Buttermilk Curves, Gothenburg, Lexington, Kearney, Gibbon Junction, and many other noted locations before wrapping up at the BNSF flyover at Grand Island.

Dominating the scene are monster double-coal trains that measure up to three miles in length, running to and from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. In addition to coal are mixed manifests, hot-shot intermodals, and locals that service industry found along the route.

Along with cameras on the ground, aerial coverage of the Buttermilk Curves and Gibbon Junction gives a whole new perspective to this amazing line.

This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray by visiting 7ideaproductions.com. 7ideaproductions.com/products/the-kearney-sub-union-pacifics-triple-track-main?_pos=1&_sid=b41afb6be&_ss=r

0:00 Intro
2:34 Map
4:08 North Platte
10:10 Platte River
24:08 Keith
32:14 Maxwell
45:37 Pawnee
48:53 Brady Curves (Buttermilk Curves)
59:51 Gothenburg
1:05:22 Willow Island
1:07:52 Peppered by a Coal Train
1:12:40 Cozad
1:16:16 Darr
1:25:32 Lexington
1:30:28 Overton
1:32:17 Elm Creek
1:44:46 Kearney
1:48:02 Gibbon
1:49:33 Gibbon Junction
2:08:22 Shelton
2:08:47 Wood River
2:10:53 Grand Island