It is harvest time again, and long grain trains are moving through typical Nebraska farming country to bring in this year's harvest. This seasonal Route centers on North Platte Nebraska, including the Bailey Yard, the world’s largest railroad classification yard.

Owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Bailey Yard is located in North Platte, Nebraska. The yard is named after former Union Pacific President Edd H. Bailey.

The gigantic Bailey Yard covers a total expanse of 2,850 acres (11.5 km2) and is over 8 miles (13 km) in length and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. The yard is made up of some 315 miles (507 km) of track, including 18 receiving and 16 departure tracks.

Bailey Yard handles over 10,000 railroad cars every day. Approximately 3,000 cars are sorted daily in the yard’s two humps and 114 bowl tracks. Because of the enormous amount of products that pass through Bailey Yard, Union Pacific describes the yard as an “economic barometer of America.”

Besides being home to two humps, the yard also includes a locomotive fueling and servicing center that handles more than 8,500 locomotives per month, a locomotive repair shop that can repair 750 locomotives monthly, and a car repair facility that handles nearly 50 cars daily.

Union Pacific employs more than 2,600 people in North Platte, most of whom are responsible for the day-to-day operations of Bailey Yard.

3 x sessions included