Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center

As a kid, I was always fascinated with trains. I’ve enjoyed touring Union Station in downtown Ogden or visiting Golden Spike National Historical Park in northern Utah. But my first visit to a full-on, active railyard was during a summer road trip through the Midwest with my wife. We stopped at the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center in North Platte, Nebraska and were both fascinated with the complexities of a railway system.

In fact, the Golden Spike Tower offers the best view of Bailey Yard – the world’s largest railyard.

A visit to the venue consists of three main sections, which are included in the general admission ticket. The tower, which includes the seventh and eighth floors, the main lobby area and the grounds around the visitor center.

Here’s a rundown of what you can expect at the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center.

Directions and Tickets to the Golden Spike Tower and Visitors Center

Tickets to tour the Golden Spike Tower aren’t available online in advance of your visit. However, if you have a large group, you can call them at (308) 532-9920 to book a group tour and save a few dollars per ticket. Otherwise, you can purchase your tickets at the front desk when you arrive. That’s what we did!

Adults are $10, while seniors (age 62+) are $8. Students (ages 6-16) are $6 and children under six are free.

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The Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center is a short drive out of North Platte, Nebraska – roughly five miles west of downtown. From the main North-South road in North Platte (known as Jeffers Street or Highway 83), find A Street and head west for about 2 miles. When you reach Homestead Road, head north and you’ll see the Golden Spike Tower in the distance. When you arrive, find a parking spot and make your way into the visitor center.

Check Out the Hall of Fame Exhibit

The first floor of the visitor center is a wonderful spot to learn about some of the influential people to Bailey Yard and Union Pacific. There’s a Hall of Fame wall and exhibit area highlighting six people. Take a moment to reach about their contributions to the area and see some of the historic artifacts related to their influence.

Behind the information desk, there’s a separate room with a video about the Bailey Railyards and other historic train artifacts.

The biggest element of the Visitor Center is the gift shop. There were lots of different types of items for sale, from souvenir shirts, patches and stickers to games, toys and even jewelry.

After exploring the information on the main floor, make your way to the elevators to ride up to the top observation levels of the Golden Spike Tower.

Visit the Observation Decks at the Top of the Tower

There are two upper floors in the tower you can explore. You can take the elevator, but there’s also a stairs option if you’re feeling extra motivated to get your daily 10,000 steps. It doesn’t matter whether you start your visit on the seventh or eighth floor of the Golden Spike Tower. Each one offers a slightly different experience and opportunity.

Seventh Floor of the Golden Spike Tower

There are two main sections of the seventh floor. The indoor exhibit area and the outdoor viewing deck. Inside, you can read about the North Platte Canteen – a railroad stop that supported WWII troops passing through the area. In addition to reading the displays, you can watch a short documentary about it. The volunteer effort served more than 6 million troops.

Outside, on the observation deck, you can check out the Bailey Yard for about as far as the eye can see. If you aren’t quite sure what you’re looking at or looking for, here are a few quick highlights: the Diesel Repair Shop, the West Hump and the East Hump. It was during my visit that I learned about the term “humping railcars”. But that’s explained a little more on the eighth floor.

Eighth Floor of the Golden Spike Tower

Take the elevators or the stairs up to the eighth floor for indoor exhibits about railroading. It’s here where you’ll learn that humping railcars is essentially sorting them and coupling them together for their next leg in the journey. In short, when trains arrive at Bailey Yard, the cars are sorted in the East Hump or West Hump – they’re grouped together and travel down a short incline with the switches directing them to the track based on destinations. Once we learned about that, it was neat to watch it happening out in the yards.

If you’ve got kids with you, they may enjoy pulling up a chair at one of the tables and grabbing some crayons and a coloring page. The views through the windows are awesome.

Don’t miss the exhibits on varying topics around the railroads, including the Orphan Train, the driving of the Golden Spike in Promontory Utah, and more.

Wander the Grounds around Golden Spike Tower

After exploring the views from the tower and the displays in the lobby and gift shop, venture outside to wander the grounds around the tower. You aren’t able to go over and explore the railyards in person – though that would be cool – you can let your kids play in the small wooden train and act as their own conductor.

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You’ll also notice a row of flags. At first, I assumed there were 50 – one for each state. However, it turns out there’s only 23 – each one representing the states in which the Union Pacific Railroad operates. Can you name each of the states based on their flag?

After a relaxing stroll around the grounds of the Golden Spike Tower, you’ll be ready to head to your next adventure.

The Details

Address: 1249 N Homestead Rd, North Platte, NE 69101

How long to spend: About one hour

Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for seniors (age 62+); $6 for students (age 6-16); Children 5 and under are free.

Hours: Open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Website: https://goldenspiketower.com/

Phone: (308) 532-9920

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