Pacific Tourist

Your Guide Book to the Pacific Railroad, 1879

Stations in Nebraska

Departing Omaha to Fremont and Grand Island

OMAHA
   The general offices of the Union Pacific are located here. They are in an elegant building which catches the eye of the traveler as one of the notable objects as he approaches the city.
   It was completed in 1878, at a cost of $58,453.74, and the citizens are very proud of this fine structure. Repairing to the new depot at the crossing of Ninth street, you will find one of the most magnificent trains of cars made up by any railroad in the United States. Pullman sleeping-coaches are attached to all express trains.
   At this depot you will find the waiting-rooms, ticket-offices, baggage-rooms, lunch-stands, news and bookstand, together with one of the best kept eating-houses in the country.
   You are finally ready for the start. The bell rings, the whistle shrieks, and off you go!

GILMORE (9.5 miles from Omaha, elevation 976 feet)
On the left side of the cars you will see a saloon called Half-Way House.

PAPILION (14.5 miles from Omaha, elevation 972 feet)
It is reported that early explorers saw an immense number of butterflies hence the name. The town was laid out by Dr. Beadle in 1869 and is the county-seat of Sarpy County.

ELK HORN (28.9 miles from Omaha, elevation 1,150 feet)
This is a growing town and does a large business in grain.

WATERLOO (30.9 miles from Omaha)
Crossing the Elkhorn River you arrive at Waterloo. A few years since a train containing one car of fish or fish-eggs was thrown from the bridge and since that time the Elk Horn has abounded in pike, pickerel, bass, sunfish and perch.

FREMONT (46 miles from Omaha, elevation 1,176 feet)
The county seat of Dodge County it has a population of full 3,000. In the year 1875, over $100,000 were expended in buildings in this growing young city. The Union Pacific reached the town on the 24th day of January, 1866.
Fremont has a large new hotel, the Occidental, and several smaller ones; has the finest opera house in the West, and the largest and finest dry-goods house in the state. There are two newspapers; the Fremont Herald (daily and weekly, and the Fremont Tribune (weekly)

GRAND ISLAND (153 miles from Omaha, elevation 1,850 feet)
   The end of the first division of the Union Pacific Railroad. The town is named after an island in the Platte River. Its present population is about 1,200. It was first settled by a colony of Germans from Davenport Iowa in 1857.
   The island is thickly settled, nearly every quarter section being occupied by a thrifty farmer.
   In this vicinity stray buffaloes first appeared to the early settlers of the valley. They never came in large herds, but when hunted by the Indians further west and south in the Republican Valley they would be seen wandering near this place.
   Grand Island has a fine large brick court-house, three church edifices, school-house, hotels, bank and one of the largest steam flouring-mills in the state.
   Last year, 1875, the company put up an elegant hotel for the accommodation of the traveling public, at which all passenger trains stop for meals.
   It has two newspapers, the Times and Independent, both of which are well conducted.

Kearny Junction to North Platte and Ogallala

Time Table