By 1885, an expansion would be made into Omaha. It would be quickly sold to the Omaha and North Platte Railroad.
The Omaha & North Platte desired to continue building west, reaching Ashland by 1888. They would continue north towards Fremont from that point.
The two railroads combined formed a loop, to allow Chicago, Burlington & Quincy trains to enter Omaha. The CB&Q mainline bypassed Omaha about 10 miles to the south.
The railroads became a full part of the CB&Q in 1908, which invested money to heavily rebuild the two.
The CB&Q continued operations of this route until 1970, when they merged with Great Northern and Northern Pacific to form Burlington Northern.
By 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line. It is currently known as the Omaha Subdivision.
10/25/22
Located near Seymour Smith Park, this unique deck girder bridge crosses Big Papillion Creek, the Big Papio Trail and the Keystone Trail.
While this bridge looks like a standard deck plate girder bridge, it actually has a unique history. The piers and approaches of this bridge were built in 1905, but the three deck girder spans have other histories.
The eastern deck plate girder span has an unknown build date, and an unknown history. It is possible that it was originally located here, or it could have come from elsewhere. The middle span is the most unique. It was built by Shiffler Bridge Company in 1896, and moved here at an unknown date. The plaque calls the span "No. 10", indicating what seems to be an original location for this span.
The western span was built in 1911 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. Once again, little is known about the history of this span, such as when it was moved here or where it would have come from. All three spans are 60 feet long, and set onto concrete substructures.
It is believed that Shiffler Bridge Co was founded in Pittsburgh in 1890, before being merged into American Bridge Company in 1900. It is known that former employees went on to form McClintic-Marshall Company, which also built a noteworthy nearby bridge.
At least one other Shiffler span exists on the former CB&Q system, located over Turkey Creek near DeWitt, Nebraska.
Historic postcards show that there were definitely more spans built by Shiffler, particularly across the Big Horn River on the Sheridan, Wyoming-Billings, Montana line. This line was constructed in 1895-1896, meaning it is entirely possible this span came from that area.
Further complicating the mystery is the replacement date of 1911 for the Big Horn River spans. Not only this, they were replaced by spans built by Pennsylvania Steel Company.
Additional research is being conducted on this bridge. The author believes it is possible that the Shiffler span came from the Wyoming-Montana line, and the Pennsylvania Steel Company span possibly was excess and used here instead.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in excellent condition.
The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the deep history and obscure builder.
The photo above is an overview.