Omaha, NE: CB&Q Tower and Depot

Tower: (3D Satellite)

Depot: (3D Satellite)

Thomas Dorman posted six photos with the comment: "Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad tower near 14th Street at Marcy Street, Omaha, Nebraska. (41.25119, -95.93392) 11 May 2017." Unfortunately, there were no comments indicating what it is used for today. The tracks by the tower are UP. BNSF has the two tracks furthest away from the tower.

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Amtrak

I can't figure out what such a large tower did when it was built. The yard in front of the former Union Station looks like a UP yard. This CB&Q line would be just a branch because their mainline was down by Plattsmouth, NE. However, if today's Amtrak Zypher is a good example, the passenger trains did make the detour up to the Omaha station. So maybe this tower controlled a bunch of crossovers that allowed CB&Q passenger trains to get next to Union Station. That would explain why Amtrak built an "amshack" across the tracks from Union Station to be next to the BNSF tracks and why Union Station is now a museum.

Update: the tower was not used for Zephyrs to access Union Station. CB&Q had their own station on the opposite side of the tracks.

Jim Arvites posted
Aerial view of the CB&Q depot on the left and Union Station (Union Pacific) on the right at Omaha, Nebraska circa 1947.

Jim Arvites posted
View looking east of the Burlington Depot on right and the old Omaha Union Station on left with an Omaha streetcar crossing over the CB&Q and Union Pacific tracks at Omaha, Nebraska in August 1911.
(Durham Museum)

Beatrice Area Railroad Enthusiasts posted
Burlington Station Omaha, NE 1906.
Mike Bartels: Remodeled in 1929-30 into the current building. The columns were eventually re-erected on the campus at Lincoln east of Memorial Stadium, although they are now stored awaiting construction of a permanent new site off 11th Street.

Jamison Nicholls posted
Opened in 1898 for the CB&Q railroad, this historic station served Omaha, Nebraska for 76 years until its closure in 1974, following the construction of the current Amtrak station next door. It sat vacant for years, until local news station KETV-7 bought the building in 2013. By 2015, it was fully renovated into a state-of-the-art broadcast and web media facility.

Steven J. Brown posted
Union Pacific SD40-2 3239 (built 1973, became SD40N 1880) passes the CB&Q depot in Omaha, Nebraska - September 23, 1990.
Stephen Young: Been completely refurbished and is the home of the ABC television affiliate.