And talk about full force. I was traveling west on U.S. 30, the Lincoln Highway, between Columbus and Silver Creek and the speed limit was 60 and it was raining. Approaching me in the other lane is a tractor-trailer truck doing the same speed. But to the right of his rig, you see this very thick and one-lane-wide ball of rain. And I mean a BIG BALL, as high as the truck. We pass each other at a combined 120 MPH and my car has instantly become fully washed. As long as the car didn’t change lanes on its own, I’m OK.
People keep asking me about my fascination with trains, particularly out here in Nebraska. Well, here is one on them. The snapshots below come from just due west of Silver Creek.


At about 1pm CDT, I arrived in Gibbon, NE, about 13 miles east from the city of Kearney. This spot on the railroad is known as Gibbon Junction, a Mixmaster if you will. The double mainline Council Bluffs Subdivision from Omaha meets up with the double mainline Marysville Subdivision from Kansas City, MO. From here it is a triple track mainline running 111 miles west to North Platte, NE. But that is only part of the story.
Let’s make that Tease 1 of tomorrow’s installment.
And the winds from earlier?? It has been quite blustery this afternoon. Still no thunderstorms sighted and the rain is intermittent. If there is at least one benefit to living out here in this part of Tornado Alley, you have good visual assistance. Where I am located, you literally have horizon-to-horizon skies. Such as it is today, the overcast gray color is not very appealing. But on a sunny, clear day, the Sky Blue skies will bring a tear to your eyes. The word “amazing” doesn’t even begin to describe what you see. Having grown up and lived in suburbia all of my life, out here on the prairies, you are taken aback. It is just truly amazing.
Anyway, I find myself in Kearney at 3pm watching the trains roll by. And the rain and thunderstorms mentioned earlier?? (In the little girl’s voice from that particular movie) “They're here”. And what about Kearney?? Let’s make that Tease 2.
I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Kearney, Nebraska.
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