So what's in Creston?
Well, my day job is hauling Burlington Railroad crews around and Creston is a major destination. (Bradshaw is also a place I often go. In fact, one of my favorite conductors was out there so I was kind of concerned when I heard a tornado took out a train. Fortunately, the train that got hit was not his but he did see a funnel.)
There is another big story going between Creston and Bradshaw and points East and West. That's the main line of the Burlington Railroad. The Missouri is on the rampage and could be a big problem all summer. Each day, we find out another crossing is out. Nebraska City. Brownsville. Rulo.
Burlington has alreay lost their South tracks to the flood. Those tracks link Kansas City to Omaha, Lincoln, and Sioux City and other places North and West.
The Creston line, which is their main line East and West is the Battle for Burlington. Amtrack also uses those tracks for the California Zepher. They suspended service a couple of weeks ago because of the flooding problem.
The Creston line crosses the river at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Before a train gets to the Missouri, it must come through a little Iowa town called Pacific Junction. Burlington has built a dike almost seven miles long from Pacific Junction to the Missouri bridge and again on the Plattsmouth side to keep the trains above water and moving. This is a picture of that dike. (The white parts are sandbags stacked on pallets.)
The media isn't talking much about this flood but they will be if Burlington and Union Pacific get washed out. Trust me, stopped corn shipments and ruined corn crops will show up at the pump price by this fall. The oil companies wouldn't miss a chance to raise pump prices and blame the flood for a lower supply for corn for ethanol.
There are a lot of jobs at stake as Burlington challenges the Missouri. Hopefully, Burlington will win but I wouldn't bet the soggy farm on it. Times are interesting,
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