Launched in 1993, the Nebraska Central Railroad is a

shortline railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

that operates about of track solely in Nebraska. It runs on former

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

and

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

track in central

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. It is a subsidiary of the

Rio Grande Pacific Corporation The Rio Grande Pacific Corporation is a railroad holding company. Rio Grande Pacific Corporation plans, designs, implements, manages and operates short line railroads in the United States. The company was founded in 1986 with railroads in six stat ...

History

The Nebraska Central Railroad was started in June 1993 by CEO Richard Bertel and 20 employees. In its first month of operation, a flood caused over $900,000 in damage.

Subdivisions

Albion subdivision, a stub that starts at Oconee and runs west to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, then turns northwest towards

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

. This subdivision's business includes unit grain trains to

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

and unit ethanol trains to Valero in Albion. Various small agriculture operations also receive NCRC service. Cedar Rapids Subdivision, a stub that starts at Genoa and runs west and then northwest towards Spalding. This subdivision effectively ends at

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

; the remaining is out of service due to marginal traffic. Preferred Sands is a major NCRC customer located west of Genoa. Norfolk Subdivision is a stub that starts at the Union Pacific's yard in

Columbus, Nebraska Columbus is the county seat of Platte County, Nebraska, situated at the confluence of the Loup River, Loup and Platte River, Platte rivers roughly 85 miles (137 km) west-northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha and 75 miles (121 km) northwe ...

and runs west and then north towards

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Norfolk has a small yard that was once part of

Chicago & Northwestern Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

's Cowboy Line. Train M-CBNC (Council Bluffs-Nebraska Central) runs across this subdivision daily except Sundays with scrap metal for

Nucor Corporation Nucor Corporation is an American company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that produces steel and related products. It is the largest steel producer in the United States and the largest recycler of scrap in North America. Nucor is the 16th- ...

, ethanol for Louis Dreyfus and other businesses in Norfolk. Agrex in Enola, between Norfolk and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

, receives unit grain trains.

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...

in Madison also receives NCRC service. Ord Subdivision is a stub that starts at Union Pacific's yard in Grand Island and runs north and northwest to

Ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, US * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austra ...

. Green Plains Renewable and Cargill have large facilities near Ord. Palmer Subdivision is a stub that starts at Central City off Union Pacific's Columbus Subdivision and runs west to

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

. This was once a BNSF branch that ran from

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

towards Burwell and Ericson. Service over this branch was discontinued by NCRC in March 2012. Stromsburg Subdivision is a branch line that starts at Central City and runs east to Brainard. This branch was once referred to as the "High Line" by many Union Pacific crews that operated across the branch. The line connected to the Union Pacific's Lincoln Subdivision in Valparaiso prior to the NCRC takeover in 1993.

interchanges with NCRC at David City. Grain trains are the chief commodity moved over the Stromsburg Sub.

NCRC Operations

Nebraska Central operates out of 3 locations. The headquarters are in Norfolk. The MOW, Signal department and Train Service employees are located in Columbus. The locomotive shop is housed in a former Union Pacific freight house in Grand Island; a small Grand Island Extra Board also operates out of Grand Island.

Locomotives

Union Pacific Locomotives are seen on a regular basis across the Nebraska Central, as they are used for Unit Train movements and the Norfolk Local per run through agreement.

References

External links

Nebraska Central Railroad Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebraska Central Railroad Nebraska railroads Spin-offs of the Union Pacific Railroad