You ought not need be a history buff to recognize Council Bluffs’ storied railroad history, nor the deep connections those steam engines helped forge across the county as America celebrates its 250th birthday.
A plaque declaring Council Bluffs the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad is affixed to the Golden Spike Monument, 2073 9th Ave., on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Gabe Fitch, 5, left, and his brother, Jay, 7, check out the railcars on display outside the Rails West History Museum during Railroad Days on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Phil Hinz, center, rings the bell of a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 915 locomotive with his sons James, 4, left, and August, 2, outside the Rails West History Museum during Railroad Days on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Maclynn Loeffelholz, 6, participates in an urban sketching activity at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum during Railroad Days on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
A plaque declaring Council Bluffs the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad is affixed to the Golden Spike Monument, 2073 9th Ave., on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Phil Hinz, center, rings the bell of a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad No. 915 locomotive with his sons James, 4, left, and August, 2, outside the Rails West History Museum during Railroad Days on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Maclynn Loeffelholz, 6, participates in an urban sketching activity at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum during Railroad Days on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Gabe Fitch, 5, left, and his brother, Jay, 7, check out the railcars on display outside the Rails West History Museum during Railroad Days on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
