Labor Day weekend, 7:30 AM. A bunch of guys are on top of our neighbor's roof starting demolition. They woke up JP. Not good. We were supposed to have a Husker gameday party on our deck. What now? Let's go to the Zoo!
We got to the zoo at about 11:00. The southbound exit was backed up onto the freeway. Northbound wasn't much better. Hey, what about Lauritzen Gardens? We've never been there.
Attached to the gardens is the park that houses the two Union Pacific locomotives that you see as you cross the Missouri on I-80 coming into Omaha. I've always wanted to see them up close. CP was engaged and interested in them, especially the Big Boy steam locomotive. I've never seen anything so huge! It has two pistons per side, each driving four 6-foot wheels.
It was built in 1944 and stayed in service until 1959, pulling coal over the hump in Laramie.
CP doesn't remember much from the Illinois Rail Museum, but I sure do.
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