Railroads in Omaha

[1] Omaha was not supposed to be the center of the First transcontinental railroad; its neighbor across the Missouri River, Council Bluffs, Iowa was.

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.

Along with local financier Edward Creighton,[4] George Francis Train was the promoter who was chiefly responsible for the city's landing the railroad.

[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.

[9] In 1867 Ezra Millard, Andrew J. Hanscom, and Augustus Kountze formed the Omaha Horse Railway, the first horsecar in the city.

[10] An electric car was built between Omaha and Benson specifically to promote that suburb's development during these years.

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."

There have been many railroad stations downtown and smaller depots throughout Omaha since the inception of the Union Pacific in the city.

[33] In 1939 Union Pacific, a major Hollywood film, was premiered in Omaha to celebrate the city's railroad heritage.

Two large train engines have been placed as monuments and industrial art in Kenefick Park in South Omaha.

Located downtown, Union Pacific Center is the largest building by square feet in the state of Nebraska, and the 4th tallest in Omaha.