Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad facts for kids

The Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad (FEVR) was a special train line in Nebraska. It was about 17 miles (27 km) long. This railroad offered fun trips for people to enjoy. Today, the trains and equipment from FEVR are owned by the Nebraska Railroad Museum.

The FEVR line went from Fremont to a town called Hooper. This track was first built way back in 1869. It was part of a bigger railroad system called the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad. People often called this bigger line the "Cowboy Line." In 1903, the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW) took over the "Cowboy Line." They kept running trains on it until 1982.

In 1982, a part of the line from Fremont to Norfolk was damaged by flooding. This happened along the Elkhorn River. After the flood, the CNW stopped using that section of the track. The amount of goods being carried by freight trains had also been slowly going down. In 1985, the Nebraska Railroad Museum bought the section of track from Fremont to West Point.

Fun train trips started on Memorial Day in 1986. The trains were pulled by a steam locomotive named #1702. It was built in 1942. Another locomotive, a diesel one called Soo Line 2121, was used as a backup. Later, FEVR 1219 became the main locomotive. It was built in 1962.

In 2010, the Nebraska Railroad Museum had to sell the rail line. They also sold their locomotives to a private owner. The museum had planned to keep running its dinner train on the line. This line was renamed the Fremont Northern Railroad. But the dinner train stopped running in 2012. The tracks were in bad shape, and it was not safe to use them.

You can even see a FEVR train in the 1995 movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

How the Railroad Started and Ended

The Nebraska Railroad Museum started in 1983. Its goal was to save the old railroad line between Fremont and Norfolk. Before FEVR, the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) used this track. Norfolk was a very busy train center back then.

Why the Line Was Abandoned

By the mid-1970s, fewer freight trains were using this part of the "Cowboy Line." People started talking about closing it down. In the spring of 1982, floods along the Elkhorn River caused a lot of damage. After the floods, the C&NW asked for permission to stop using the line. They got permission soon after. This left the track with a very uncertain future.

Saving the Railroad Tracks

In October 1984, the museum group began talking about buying the abandoned line. After many months, they bought the line from Fremont to West Point in the summer of 1985. This is how the Fremont & Elkhorn Valley Railroad was born!

Workers started fixing the tracks right away. On Memorial Day in 1986, FEVR ran its first train to Nickerson. At first, FEVR operated out of an old C&NW building in Fremont. By Independence Day, trains were running all the way to Hooper. On New Year's Eve, the "Pathfinder Dinner Train" started its trips on the FEVR line.

Changes and Challenges

In 1987, FEVR had to move from the downtown building. They moved to a new property. In 1988, the Pathfinder Dinner Train stopped running on FEVR tracks. Also, the section of track from Hooper to West Point was too expensive to fix. So, that part of the FEVR track was removed in the summer of that year. A few months later, the "Fremont Dinner Train" began its trips.

In the summer of 1989, many of the trains and cars got a new paint job. Locomotive 1219 and some other cars were painted maroon, yellow, and black. These colors were chosen to look like the old Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad. That was the original railroad that came before FEVR.

Later Years and Closure

In 2000 and 2001, FEVR stored empty train cars for another company. These cars were brought in by the Union Pacific Railroad. By 2003, FEVR started to have problems. A bridge north of Nickerson was unsafe, so trains could not cross it. The Union Pacific Railroad also stopped connecting with FEVR in 2004.

The biggest problem came in 2010. The railroad faced losing its property because of a bank loan. Many of FEVR's trains and other items were sold to a private owner. FEVR stopped running trains in October 2012. This was because promised repairs to the tracks were not made. The Fremont Dinner Train also stopped running and moved to Kansas. As of 2019, the repairs to the FEVR tracks have still not been made.

Cool Trains and Cars of FEVR

The Fremont & Elkhorn Valley Railroad had a collection of interesting trains and cars.

Main Locomotives

• EMD SW1200 #1219: This was a diesel train built in 1962. FEVR got it in 1988. It was painted in FEVR's special colors in 1989.
• Baldwin 2-8-0 #1702: This was a steam locomotive built in 1942. It was the first train to run on FEVR's excursion line. It is now in North Carolina.
• Soo Line SW1200 2121: This was another diesel locomotive built in 1955. It was used as a main locomotive until 1996.

Passenger Cars

• Passenger cars 1101 and 1102: These cars were built in 1924. They were originally sleeping cars for the C&NW railroad. FEVR got them in 1986 and painted them in FEVR colors.
• Concession car 1938: This car was built in 1922. It was used to sell snacks and drinks on the train. FEVR got it in 1987.
• Milwaukee Road Parlor car 193: This fancy car was built in 1948. It was later moved to Kansas.
• Passenger car 649 and 542: These cars were built in 1947. They were used on a famous train called the Olympian Hiawatha. They were later donated to a museum in Illinois.

Other Interesting Equipment

• Bulkhead flatcar 16217: This car was built in 1959. FEVR used it to help maintain the tracks.
• Various Cabooses: FEVR had several cabooses, which are special cars at the end of a freight train. These included Union Pacific, Burlington Northern, and former Rock Island cabooses.
• Other Locomotives: FEVR also had several other smaller locomotives. These included a General Electric 45-ton switcher and a Whitcomb 50-ton switcher.

The Railroad's Path

The tracks that FEVR trains used were first built between 1869 and 1871. They were part of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad. This is one of the oldest existing railroad tracks in Nebraska. It was famously called the "Cowboy Line."

Historical Connections

The tracks generally run north and south. They cross the old Mormon Trail, which was used by pioneers going west. In 1903, the Chicago and North Western Railway took over the line. It became an important route to places like Chadron and Deadwood. This part of the "Cowboy Line" was known as the West Point Subdivision. It mainly carried grain, farm goods, lumber, and sometimes coal.

Changes to the Route

FEVR originally wanted to buy the entire line from Fremont to Norfolk. But the C&NW had already removed the track from West Point to Norfolk. This meant West Point became the end of the line. Sadly, the section from Hooper to West Point was too expensive to fix. So, that part of the FEVR track was removed in 1988. This left Hooper as the new end of the line.

Later, in 2003, the section between Nickerson and Hooper was closed. This was because a bridge north of Nickerson was unsafe. Now, the line only goes from Fremont to Nickerson. It passes by the historic Rawhide Creek.

Track Connections

Between Fremont and Nickerson, the FEVR tracks used to cross the BNSF Railway's line. This crossing was removed in 2014. South of Linden Avenue, FEVR connects with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). However, this connection line is currently not in use. Trees are growing on it, and it needs many repairs.

In 2015, the railroad crossings over major highways were marked "Exempt." This means train signals and gates were removed. More crossings were removed in 2016.

The Fremont Dinner Train

The Fremont Dinner Train was a special train that offered meals while traveling. It was a private business. FEVR provided the tracks, the locomotive, and the crew to run it. The dinner train ran on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

It started service on the FEVR tracks in October 1988. The cars used for the dinner train were built in the 1940s and 1950s. The meals were prepared by a catering service, not cooked on the train itself. The Fremont Dinner Train stopped running in October 2012. It then moved to Baldwin City, Kansas, where it is now known as the Kansas Belle Dinner Train.