Railroads in Nebraska
Politics decided when and where almost every railroad line was set up, where it went, and where it terminated. I do not mean politicians, I mean the "office" type of politics. This method of behind the scenes, smoked filled room, decision making came to an end about 1909-1910.
Initially it cost about 10 cents a mile to ride almost any train in Nebraska, but within a couple of years the price dropped to about 7.5 cents a mile.
Once out of town, the trains could (and did) travel at speeds of about 60 miles an hour.
They could carry about 600 to 700 passengers, and quite often did bring that many into Nebraska from points east on a daily basis.
Read more about it in THE IRONROAD, by John McCoy offsite
NEGenWeb 2016