Check Your Bags? Scenes from the Ogallala Depot

man standing by railroad crossing sign


Among the thousands of railroad photos in our collections is a series shot outside the Union Pacific Depot in Ogallala around 1900. The photos were apparently meant to document how luggage and freight was commonly stacked outside the building, loaded on tall wagons, or simply piled beside the tracks. Details of a few of the photos are shown here.

It was probably a good thing it didn’t rain a lot in western Nebraska.

 

outside of depot with sign and barrels

The Depot. The sign lists Ogallala’s elevation as 3,211 feet and gives distances “To Omaha 341 5/10 M” and “To Ogden 658 7/10 M.”  RG2105-3-56

 

wagon stacked high with trunks

Luggage wagon. RG2105-3-36

 

baskets, bags, boxes piled in street

The depot is immediately to the left of this detail. RG2105-3-38

 

man picking through jumble of crates beside railroad track

Looking like they’ve been literally kicked out of a boxcar, these boxes include products from the National Biscuit Company (aka, Nabisco), and apricots from the Golden State Canning Company of Ontario, California. RG2105-3-43 

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