By Cheri Sicard
RVing railroad buffs might want to route their travels through North Platte, Nebraska, for a chance to experience what has to be one of the best train buffs’ bucket list attractions ever. The Golden Spike Tower overlooks the largest rail transfer yard in the world. Even better, this attraction is part of Harvest Hosts, so if you are a member of this terrific program, you can spend the night.
The former Hell on Wheels town
North Platte was chosen as a railroad town by Union Pacific’s Chief Engineer during the construction of the transcontinental railroad because of its close proximity to good water and its distance from Grand Island, Nebraska. The first train rolled through what was then known as the “Hell on Wheels” town in 1866.
By 1867, mainline operations began and two years later, East met West at the Promontory Summit in Utah. That railroad crossed two-thirds of the continent over some of the most challenging terrain on the planet.
The Golden Spike Tower of today
At that site today, the Golden Spike Tower provides an 8-story-tall bird’s-eye view of Bailey Yard below. Named for former Union Pacific president Edd H. Bailey, it’s the largest railroad classification yard in the world. Situated in the midst of key east-west and north-south corridors on the busiest freight rail line in America, the massive yard covers 2,850 acres and has a total length of eight miles.
Each day, Bailey Yard manages 10,000 railroad cars, sorting and routing them to ensure their cargo reaches its final destination on time. You can watch it all from the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center. Informative docents, former Bailey Yard employees, circulate among visitors to explain the fascinating processes taking place below.
The latest computerized control systems handle all train movement throughout Bailey Yard at the on-site command center. The Bailey Yard command center is tied to the Harriman Dispatching Center in Omaha, which controls hundreds of intercity trains daily throughout the company’s 23-state rail system.
More stats about the Golden Spike Tower and the world’s largest rail transfer yard
- Bailey Yard consists of 17 receiving and 16 departure tracks.
- It handles 14,000 rail cars every 24 hours.
- 3,000 rail cars are sorted daily in the yard’s eastward and westward yards, nicknamed “hump” yards.
- Using a mound cresting 34 feet for eastbound trains and 20 feet for westbound, the hump yards allow four cars a minute to gently roll into any of 114 “bowl” tracks.
- From the bowl tracks, cars join onto trains headed for destinations in the East, West, and Gulf Coasts of America, as well as the Canadian and Mexican borders.
- An average of 139 trains per day leave Bailey Yard, largely comprised of raw and finished goods, such as automobiles, coal, grain, corn, sugar, chemicals, and steel, along with consumer goods, including electronics, apparel, and other retail products.
- The fueling and service center processes more than 8,500 locomotives each month, using technology like overhead cranes and elevated work bays to maintain fluid operations.
- The train operations and repair shops at Bailey Yard operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- The on-site car repair facility annually replaces 10,000 pairs of wheels, many identified through an in-motion defect detector using ultrasound technology to inspect the wheel. Union Pacific developed this detector, which is the only one in the world. Some wheel repairs even occur without the rail car ever leaving the track, thereby minimizing downtime.
Take some time to visit the museum and Railroad Hall of Fame exhibit at the base of the Golden Spike Tower before or after ascending to observe the world’s largest rail transfer yard.
The gift shop here offers an impressive array of railroad merchandise, so get ready to shop for yourself or to stock up on unique gifts for your railroad-loving friends.
RV camping at the Golden Spike Tower
As I mentioned, this attraction is part of Harvest Hosts, so if you are a member, you can make a reservation to stay the night. Level RV parking is at the far end of the tower’s parking lot alongside a large cornfield. The night I visited, I was the only one there.
Now, you might think that sleeping in close proximity to so many trains would be impossible with the noise level, but not so, unless you are extremely noise-sensitive. Remember, none of the trains are speeding through this area. Likewise, there are no clanging bells or blaring horns to periodically wake you up like they would if you were camped next to a railroad crossing.
You will hear the steady drone of slow-moving train cars and the metal-on-metal sounds of trains connecting in the distance. In general, train noises do not bother me, and I had no problem sleeping through them here.
Otherwise, the area was quiet, and it was a peaceful place to spend the night within the sight lines of the world’s largest rail transfer yard. Sometimes when I go to sleep or wake up at places like this, I can’t help but wonder how amazing my life is and how lucky I am to have these incredible RV experiences. if it’s not already apparent, I am a big fan of Harvest Hosts!
Visit the Golden Spike Tower website to plan your visit. Have fun!
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I would love to visit this railyard but probably won’t. Both Wifey and I are sort of rail buffs. When we were making back and forth trips between Reno and Houston, one of our favorite stops was in Bowie, AZ. The RV park was right next to the tracks and we always requested the site closest to them. We went to sleep to the sounds of the trains. The park was named “Dwayne’s Fresh Jerky and RV Park”. Pretty cool eh?
If you are rail buffs, I would make an effort to visit. There is nothing quite like it, in the world!
Have stayed at Dwayne’s Fresh Jerky and RV Park many times, even before they moved to their latest location. They got forced out of the old “Stuckys” (or was it the other one?). Dwaynes then used all the local billboards to advertise his new location so the new owners of his old place couldn’t! At least that’s the story “Dwayne” told me. We always buy a bunch of jerky for gifts and our own eating.
Thank you, Cheri! 🙂 Sounds like a fascinating place. Thank you for the description! 🙂 Have a great week and safe travels! 🙂
Hmmm. I beg to differ on the noise at night. We were going to stay at the Tower about 6 weeks ago, but September in NE is no time to be without AC. We stayed 1.8 miles (as the sound flies) north at the State Park. I could hear the cars coupling all night, and the occasional train horn. The sounds didn’t awake me, I don’t think (I wake a few times each night for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour), but they were noticeable when awake.
My sister and BIL stayed on the north side of the yard at another campground, and they said it was too noisy, all night.
So, make your choice. I would not stay any closer than we were, and I do like trains. Loved spending time in the Tower, though.