The head of the Federal Railroad Administration met Monday with workers as well as management in North Platte, the home of the world’s largest railroad yard – Bailey Yard. FRA Administrator Amit Bose and Lynda Tran, a senior advisor to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, arrived early Monday morning. They toured Bailey Yard and its […]

A brand-new lane of S. Jeffers/ U.S. Highway 83 opened Monday, a definite step in a sometimes agonizing, summer-long traffic backup on North Platte’s main thoroughfare. Now, work has shifted to the right side of the three-lane street. Project Manager Josh Willard of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, expressed appreciation for patience from the motoring […]

On Monday, Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. in the Lincoln County district courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse, the county commissioners will hold a public hearing to take testimony in support or opposition of proposed changes to zoning regulations of large-scale, commercial and utility-grade wind and solar energy developments.  At least two major […]

Lincoln County property owners have received pink-postcards — notices of a special public hearing — giving people a chance to talk to officials about higher taxes. Despite the billing, elected representatives on both the county board of commissioners and North Platte public school board have whittled down the budgets since the cards were printed, so […]

When the North Platte Fire Department responded to a fiery explosion at Bailey Yard on Thursday, they were directed to the north side, downwind of the fire. When the first responders arrived at the meeting place where UP sent them — the former Taft schoolhouse on U.S. Highway 30 — they realized that firefighters needed […]

The investigation of a loaded coal train derailment in Gothenburg on Feb. 21 indicates that flat spots or other defects in the wheels of rail cars were to blame. The wheels damaged a “rail joint bar” as the train went over it, causing the derailment, the Federal Railroad Administration said in a report published on […]

A railcar containing acid exploded on the west side of Bailey Yard during the noon hour Thursday, sending dangerous smoke into the air. The explosion occurred around noon, resulting in heavy clouds of toxic smoke that could be seen from miles away. Union Pacific spokeswoman Robynn Tysver said the explosion originated in a container car […]

The North Platte police intercepted more than 300 tablets of fentanyl on Sunday, Sept. 10, just as the batch arrived in the city. It was the second such bust of drugs being brought into town in two weeks time. In both cases, police received information that a car was coming to North Platte that day, […]

More than 1,000 items can be considered defective on a locomotive, ranging from minor issues such as a lock on a bathroom door to higher impact issues like a high flange wheel, Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena told the Federal Railroad Administration on Monday. Vena sent a letter to FRA Administrator Amit Bose, responding to […]

Jackson Seitz, who was arrested Aug. 25 after an all-night search in the woods at Lake Maloney, was scheduled to be sentenced Monday in Lincoln County District Court for a previous assault. However, sentencing was continued (postponed) while Seitz faces prosecution for other crimes — flight to avoid arrest and meth possession. Seitz, 25, was […]