On the east end, this new line connected to an existing mainline between Omaha and Ashland, as well as a route between Plattsmouth and Ashland. The Plattsmouth route connected to Chicago.
In 1872, the railroad continued building westward, reaching Kenesaw. By 1880, the railroad became part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy system, which owned extensive trackage to the east.
In 1880, work continued to extend to Holdrege. From there, the original mainline continued west towards Sterling, Colorado.
Also in 1880, work begun at Oxford, Nebraska, reaching McCook the following year. By 1883, the CB&Q desired a connection between the two lines, and constructed it.
While the mainline continuing west from Holdrege went towards Cheyenne, the line west from McCook went towards Denver. The Lincoln-Hastings-Holdrege-Oxford-McCook route became an important backbone for the CB&Q.
In 1910, the CB&Q built a new cutoff between Cobb (near Denton), and Cushman, near the present day intersection at 48th Street and I-80. This connection allowed a connection between the Lincoln yards and the main line.
Other upgrades occurred along the route over the years, and the route was often met with well engineered infrastructure.
In 1970, the CB&Q merged with Northern Pacific and Great Northern to form Burlington Northern. BN continued to operate this route as a mainline, until it merged with Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway, the current owner.
Today, this route is still a significant backbone for BNSF, and is known as the Hastings Subdivision.
06/26/21
Located near A Street on the southwest side of Lincoln, this through girder bridge is the southernmost BNSF crossing of Salt Creek in Lincoln.
While a plaque was found on the bridge stating it was built in 1908, it is very possible this bridge is not original to this location. The bridge consists of five spans of through girder, set onto steel pile piers. There are four different sizes of spans found on this bridge.
The plaque found suggests this bridge was built by the Morava Construction Company of Chicago. This is the only known example of a railroad bridge built by this contractor, and the only other two road bridges known to have been built by this company are located in Arkansas.
In a 1955 historic aerial image, this bridge does appear as presently configured at this location. Because this rail line is one of two roughly parallel lines connecting Lincoln and Denton, there has been talk about removing this line from service.
A number of deadly accidents at crossings along this route have sparked thoughts of removing the tracks and routing trains over the largely grade separated Denton Cutoff. This project would require new tracks to be built, and BNSF has not committed to a willingness to make these changes.
If such a project were to be completed, it is hoped that this bridge would be converted to trail use, as Lincoln has a considerable amount of bike trails.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with no significant deterioration noted.
The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the large scale design and obscure builder.
The photo above is an overview.