Community

North Platte, a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States.  It is located in the southwestern part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River. The population was 23,878 at the 2000 census, and an estimated 24,079 in July, 2007.

North Platte is a railroad town; Union Pacific Railroad's large Bailey Yard is located within the city. Today, North Platte is served only by freight trains, but during World War II the city was famous for the North Platte Canteen. Tens of thousands of volunteers from North Platte and surrounding towns met the troop trains passing through North Platte, offering coffee, sandwiches and hospitality.

North Platte is the principal city of the North Platte, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Lincoln, Logan, and McPherson counties.

In spite of its small size and relatively remote location, North Platte, NE has the highest tax rate of Nebraska cities with population of 1,000 or more.

Bailey Yard - North Platte, NE

Union Pacific Railroad's Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska, is the largest railroad classification yard in the world.  It was named in honor of former Union Pacific President Edd H. Bailey.  If the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers were to play here, they'd have enough room for 2,800 football fields.

This massive yard covers 2,850 acres, reaching a total length of eight miles, well beyond the borders of North Platte, a community of 25,000 citizens.  Put end-to-end, Bailey Yard's 315 miles of track would reach from North Platte in western Nebraska east past Omaha on the Iowa border along the Missouri River.

Every 24 hours, Bailey Yard handles 10,000 railroad cars.  Of those, 3,000 are sorted daily in the yard's eastward and westward yards, nicknamed "hump" yards.  Using a mound cresting 34 feet for eastbound trains and 20.1 feet for those heading west, these two hump yards allow four cars a minute to roll gently into any of 114 "bowl" tracks where they become part of trains headed for dozens of destinations.  Together, these two yards have 18 receiving and 16 departure tracks.

People Of North Platte

Danny Woodhead - (born January 25, 1985 in North Platte, Nebraska) is an American football running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He has also played for the New England Patriots. He played college football at Chadron State.

Chief Red Cloud - Sioux warrior, was born near North Platte in 1822.

Dustin Elliott - 2004 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider.

Buffalo Bill - built his home and lived in North Platte, where he organized and was a part of the American Old West shows with cowboy themes of Wild Bill Cody.

Glenn Miller - The popular big band leader Glenn Miller lived in North Platte during his childhood and started his musical career there when his father bought him a mandolin.

The North Platte Canteen - From December 25, 1941 until April 1, 1946 more than 6 million servicemen and women who traveled through Nebraska during World War II fondly remember the hospitality of the North Platte Canteen where every troop train was met by volunteers who prepared and served sandwiches, coffee, cookies, cakes, and other homemade goodies during stops there.

Henry Hill - Mobster Henry Hill use to work as a cook in North Platte.

Dr. Don Rose - Noted San Francisco Bay Area Disc Jockey Dr. Don Rose, was born and raised in North Platte and would frequently reference the city on his popular morning show.

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