Scottsbluff (Coal Route) – Scottsbluff, Nebraska, USA | Train Spotting Location

A typical visit rewards railfans with uninterrupted sightlines across a broad, gently rising right-of-way that stays largely straight for several miles. The main embankment sits slightly above the surrounding pasture, giving you an almost eye-level view of locomotive cabs as they thunder past. Expect a deep, rolling rumble that starts minutes before the head-end comes into view; horns echo crisply off the nearby bluffs, and the rhythmic clank of rotary couplers becomes a soundtrack for the plains. Trains usually maintain 40-50 mph through this stretch—fast enough for dynamic shots yet slow enough to identify power lash-ups or freshly painted hoppers. Because the line is unsignaled for public crossings in the immediate vicinity, the feeling is pleasantly remote: just you, the wind, and steel wheels on steel rail.

The spot lies at roughly 3,900 ft elevation on Nebraska’s western edge, where short-grass prairie meets the sculpted sandstone escarpments that made Scotts Bluff an Oregon Trail landmark. Sagebrush, yucca, and hardy buffalo grass dominate the foreground, while cottonwoods trace the distant North Platte River. Summer days bring piercing blue skies, low humidity, and temperatures that can top 95 °F, often offset by a cooling breeze that whistles across the open land. Winter offers crisp air, occasional light snow, and crystalline visibility that paints locomotives in sharp relief against snow-capped buttes. Sunset bathes the entire valley in amber and pink, giving late trains a cinematic silhouette.

This is first and foremost a Powder River Basin coal artery. On an average weekday, 20–30 BNSF coal trains roll through, split almost evenly between southbound loaded and northbound empties. Trains routinely exceed 130 cars, stretching nearly 1.5 miles, and are usually powered by GE ES44ACs or EMD SD70ACe units in 2 × 2 distributed power configurations. While coal dominates, you may also catch 2–3 merchandise freights and an occasional unit grain set, especially during harvest months. Union Pacific holds trackage rights here; UP symbols sometimes detour, adding color with yellow power. No scheduled passenger service operates on this line, so every sighting is freight oriented and purpose built for heavy haul.

Photographers prize the gentle S-curve just west of the primary viewpoint, where trains transition from backlit morning shots to perfectly lit broadside compositions by mid-afternoon. A low berm on the south side of the right-of-way offers a natural elevation gain of 6-8 ft—enough to clear trackside weeds and capture full consists with the Monument’s bluffs in the background. For dramatic glint, shoot loaded southbounds about 30 minutes before sunset when the sun drops behind the train, igniting dust clouds in golden light. Long lenses (200–400 mm) isolate head-end power against endless prairie, while wide-angles reveal the full context of land, sky, and geological formations. The lack of foreground clutter allows creative panning at 1/30 sec, producing razor-sharp locomotives with motion-blurred hoppers.

Rail arrived in Scottsbluff in 1900 when the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy pushed west to tap agricultural markets and, later, Wyoming coal. The present BNSF corridor mirrors those early alignments, carrying the same vital resources—only in vastly greater volumes. Less than three miles to the west, Scotts Bluff National Monument preserves wagon ruts from the Oregon and Mormon Trails; many railfans pair a morning of photography with an afternoon hike up the historic summit trail, noting how modern steel pathways echo 19th-century migration routes. The region’s long association with resource transport—from pioneer provisions to today’s coal—creates a tangible continuity of movement across the plains.

Unlike urban grade crossings or mountain passes crowded with spectators, Scottsbluff (Coal Route) offers unbroken 360-degree prairie vistas and minimal human intrusion. The sheer volume of heavy coal traffic, paired with an iconic western backdrop, allows railfans to document industry and landscape in a single frame. Few locations provide such consistent train frequency with so little roadside noise or visual obstruction, making it a go-to site for extended time-lapse sequences, drone mosaics, and those chasing the elusive “long train, big sky” shot.