O'Fallons (Triple Track) – Sutherland, Nebraska, USA | Train Spotting Location

Perched along Union Pacific’s legendary Overland Route just west of North Platte, O’Fallons (Triple Track) is a bucket-list stop for serious railfans: three parallel mainlines, relentless transcontinental traffic, and sweeping prairie sight-lines combine to create one of the Great Plains’ most dynamic, yet deceptively tranquil, train-watching arenas.

🛤️ The Trainspotting Experience

A typical visit delivers nonstop action. From the gravel pull-off on North O’Fallons Road and the public grade crossings east and west of the siding, railfans can safely observe trains rolling in both directions on three distinct main tracks. The sheer width of the right-of-way lets you take in side-by-side meets, mid-train distributed power units, and overtakings that unfold like choreographed theater. Expect ground-shaking rumble: locomotives usually handle heavy tonnage at 50–60 mph, horns echo across the open fields, and the combined airflow of double-stacks or grain drags can whip dust and prairie grass for seconds after the consist has passed. Nighttime visits reward patient ears with distant horns drifting over miles of flat farmland well before headlights crown the horizon.

🌄 Landscape, Setting and Local Atmosphere

O’Fallons sits in Nebraska’s Platte River valley, roughly 3,000 ft above sea level but nearly pancake-flat. Vast sky dominates the scene, broken only by grain elevators, irrigation pivots, and an occasional cottonwood near the river bends. Summers bring hot, dry air and mirage-like shimmer over the ballast; winter can greet visitors with bracing winds and brilliant, crystal-clear sun angles after a snowfall. Sunrise paints the western sky peach and lavender, while late afternoons drape the rails in warm golden tones. Besides the faint hum of distant I-80 traffic, the prevailing soundtrack is the ever-present rustle of prairie grass and the metallic click of jointed rail on siding tracks.

🚂 Type and Frequency of Train Activity

This segment is part of Union Pacific’s busiest corridor between Chicago and the West Coast. Railfan counts commonly tally 70–90 trains in a 24-hour window, spiking higher during harvest or peak intermodal demand. Traffic is overwhelmingly freight: double-stack intermodals, high-priority Z-trains, unit grain and ethanol sets, mixed manifests, and coal loads heading toward eastern utilities. Distributed power is nearly standard, so four to six locomotives on a single consist are routine. Although Amtrak’s “California Zephyr” diverges south at Denver, the closest passenger presence here is a rare test special or business train, making any non-freight lash-up a notable catch. Occasional BNSF detours appear during outages along parallel lines, adding variety to the parade of Armour Yellow.

📸 Best Angles for Photos and What Railfans Enjoy Most

For eastbound daylight shots, position on the south side of the tracks at the County Road 21 crossing: morning sun illuminates locomotives head-on with unobstructed sky and minimal foreground clutter. Midday brings flattering side light for panoramic images that capture all three mains and any meet in progress. Afternoon westbound photography is best from the north shoulder of North O’Fallons Road, where late-day golden light grazes the engineer’s side and highlights exhaust plumes drifting into an expansive cloud deck. Because the land is flat, a short step-ladder lets photographers avoid fence lines and obtain a clear view of the triple-track spread. Long lenses (200–400 mm) compress consists against distant grain silos, while wide-angles underscore the immensity of the prairie sky.

🕰️ Historical or Cultural Relevance

The community of O’Fallons traces its name to John O’Fallon, a 19th-century railroad director whose influence shaped early Union Pacific policy. The triple-tracking here, completed in phases during the 1990s and 2000s, answered the need to fluidly funnel traffic into Bailey Yard, the world’s largest classification yard just 15 miles east in North Platte. Engineering teams installed centralized traffic control and crossovers every few miles, enabling directional running and higher throughput that railfans now witness daily. Remnants of earlier single-track days—old mileposts and telegraph poles—still stand beside modern signaling, silently narrating a century and a half of rail evolution.

🧭 What Makes This Spot Different from Others

Many locations boast high traffic or scenic vistas, but few marry both with the operational intrigue of triple mainlines. The ability to watch overtakes at speed—sometimes two freights pacing each other while a third threads the middle track—is rare outside of urban terminals. Here, that ballet unfolds against an uncluttered prairie backdrop with no catenary, station platforms, or urban skyline to distract the lens. Add the proximity to Bailey Yard, and O’Fallons becomes the ideal vantage for witnessing trains freshly sorted or en route to classification, offering a tangible sense of the continent-wide logistics chain in motion.

📚 Additional Resources

Union Pacific Railroad – Overland Route History
Nebraska Railroad Museum
Railfan Nebraska Forum Thread on O’Fallons Triple Track