https://www.facebook.com/groups/1208354 ... 2650171549



Some equipment is being abandoned on site. No word on the 2-6-2.

The Nebraska Railroad Museum is in Fremont and I suspect they are what's left of the old F&EV RR, they have an ex-CNW SW1200 and a coach both lettered for F&EV RR. https://nebraskarailroadmuseum.com/equipment

There is a photo on their facebook page from several Christmases ago that shows a small steamer but I am not sure where it was taken, and no details about it. https://www.facebook.com/NebraskaRailro ... 6099266122

Edit: Found this long caption on a photo of the SW that tells the story: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=4031198

"This may be one of the only pictures of the FNW in operation. At this time, FNW was a contract carrier, storing about 140 cars on several unused sidings. FNW was the creation of a few of us who were with the Eastern Nebraska Chapter of NRHS (ENC for short). FNW ran freight over ENCs line, with Fremont & Elkhorn Valley (FEVR) running the passenger. FNW was conceived for the singular purpose of pouring $$ into ENC's operation, by taking over regular maintenace of equipment and track, using $$ generated by freight service. Our first year, we poured in 5 figures into track material, and a new Roots blower for 1219. Not bad, considering ENC did not have the money for this maintenace work. Still, after running over a year, FNW ran afoul of a faction within ENCs Board that wanted no freight. When the track lease came due, they saw to it that there would be no lease renewal. FNW moved out the stored cars and folded. By 2003, ENC financial state was so bad that they asked FNW to come back, and FNW received STB authority to become a Class 3 common carrier. However, UP had red-boarded the connecting track, so there was no connection, and the local business community didn't support the new FNW operation. FNW gave up in 2005. ENC rebranded itself as Nebraska Railway Museum, but the financial slide continued until the bank called in their loan a couple of years ago. The track was sold to a shortline owner to retire the loan, but the new owner has made no attempt to run the line." I'll bet the "short line" was SF&L Railway, Inc., i.e. A & K Railroad Materials, Inc. the outfit that buys lines and runs them into the ground intentionally so as to salvage the scrap.

There was what was described as an ex-USAX "Davenport 44 tonner" derelict on the line in 2016 (photo below), I'm not sure if it is one of those white units in the link in ADMIV's post above:

Too bad. Chadron, at the west end (actually almost middle of the line if you include Colony, WY) of the former Cowboy is a neat place with most of the railroad facilities still intact.

In the above reference to equipment at the (now defunct?) Nebraska Railroad Museum, no equipment is included, but a photo string is shown. Part of that string is a C&NW boxcar numbered 336. This is the series of PS1 boxcars that started with C&NW #1. The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum has C&NW # 284 from this series. I wonder if CNW 336 still actually exists?

Les

The photo of a small steamer mentioned by Mr PMC was taken at the Colorado RR Museum, of their D&RGW #346.

The two switchers in the first picture appear to be some kind of a 25 tonner? And a 45 tonner...you can see part of a side rod on the 45....
That Davenport 44 tonner is interesting...might be on the other side of that passenger car..or its gone...
Who owns this stuff?

The two white diesels are ex-Cargill and still painted as such. Below link to a photo of same says they are both Whitcombs.

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/363008/

The steam locomotive, Florida & Atlantic 2-6-2 #18, has been kept in the barn in Hooper for years now.
https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocom ... isplay=395



That would be USAX 44 Tonner #1219. That unit is stored in Fremont by Ronin Park.
The ex-CNW SW1200 (FEVR 1219) is stored just north of the 44 Tonner (behind Nebraska Irrigated Seeds) along with three passenger cars and a flatcar.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/41%C2 ... 96.5100897



The other unit is a GE 45 Tonner. Robert Garton photo:

The Nebraska Railroad Museum has an active Facebook page. They recently (09/2020) acquired 8 acres of property and 2,000 feet of track in Nebraska City from BNSF and are currently working on acquiring the depot.
https://www.facebook.com/NebraskaRailro ... 041718705/

Ten weeks or so ago when NRM announced their relocation to Nebraska City on their facebook page (quoted by NS 3322 above) a comment appeared: "Is there a plan in place to move 6925 yet? Is it in danger from the new owners of the line?" (6925 is an ex-UP DDA40x minus its engines). The answer from NRM: "both are yet to be determined". Edit after reading some comments: It looks like NRM does not own all of the equipment in Fremont. I believe what is left includes some ex-Milwaukee Road lightweight coaches, and FEVR also had a boxcar with a generator inside for lights.

So, is the FEVR "boxcar with a generator" the forementioned C&NW # 336, or a different boxcar?

Les

It looks more modern than that C&NW car referenced, and is lettered for N&W. Could this be something N&W made for their excursion trains and then sold to FEVR? There is a door cut in the end, and some sort of headlight apparently. I wonder if the C&NW black and white photo is just for decoration, since the FEVR was the old C&NW Cowboy Line, that photo looks old and I haven't seen any color photos of the car anywhere else. They do however have an ex-M&StL bulkhead flat still in the original paint that is VERY interesting, and also an ex-RI bay window caboose painted for UP (it might have been one of those cars UP bought after the RI shutdown).

This N&W power car is now at the Midland Railway in Baldwin City, KS along with the rest of the former Fremont Dinner Train (a separate operation from FEVR, but utilized the same tracks and locomotive) equipment. The dinner train moved to Baldwin City in 2012.

Article regarding the 2012 move to Kansas:
https://journalstar.com/special-section ... de0bf.html

G. Gerard Photo (10/2020):

As far as I can tell from the March 2020 Google Maps Aerial this is the remaining equipment left in Fremont:

Locomotives:
FEVR 361 - 44 Tonner
FEVR 1219 - SW1200

Rolling Stock:
FEVR 1101 - Passenger Car
FEVR 1102 - Passenger Car
FEVR 1938 - RPO
MSTL 16217 - Flatcar

Also, Les, CNW boxcar #336 is still in Hooper as of a day ago. I found a recent photo of it on Reddit of all places: https://i.redd.it/06bnp7i6vj371.jpg

The N&W power car at FEVR pre-dates the use of HEP on the original NS Steam Program (1966-1994). This car was in the consist at FEVR powering the dinner train when I rode it in June 1992. NS began using HEP on the excursions sometime in the latter half of the 1992 season. In October '92 they were using a leased Conrail HEP car, then in the Spring of 1993 they were using a leased CSX HEP car. NS 39 debuted during a weekend of 4501 excursions out of Kingsport, TN in May 1993.