It’s another #ThrowbackThursday!
This 5-1/4″ x 3-1/2″ colorized photograph shows the east side of the Valley Union Pacific depot with local passengers boarding the McKeen Motor Car for a trip to Omaha. The luggage car on the end held suitcases, luggage, boxes and mail. The McKeen Motor Car made two trips a day to the city. The car was built in Omaha, in early 1906, at the Union Pacific yards located where the Qwest Center is today. The motor car, invented by William R. McKeen for the U.P., was used to carry passengers. The car ran on gasoline which made it much cheaper than a steam engine. Nicknamed the “knife nose”, the cars were maroon enamel over a steel body. The motor car was discontinued in the mid-1930s and the depot was demolished in the 1980s.
This image is published and owned by the Valley Public Library. The Friends of the Valley Public Library, Valley, Nebraska, have digitized and described a collection of photographs depicting businesses and members of the local population between the late 1800s and 1900s in Valley.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!
The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.
