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Crawford Hill is the name of a helper district with an average 1.1% eastbound grade between Crawford, Nebraska, at an elevation of , and Belmont, Nebraska at on the BNSF Railway Butte Subdivision. Crawford Hill is formed as it climbs the Pine Ridge escarpment, formations of buttes and grassy dense sand hills lined with ponderosa pines. Manned helper engines based in Crawford are used to help 18,000-ton () loaded coal trains from Wyoming's Powder River Basin make it up the escarpment. ==History== In 1888, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad began building a line west from Alliance, Nebraska to Edgemont, South Dakota to compete with the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad. The challenge came when conquering the Pine Ridge escapment. Upon reaching Belmont, engineers determined the only means of success would be constructing the Belmont Tunnel through the east face of the escapment, with a steep grade and tight curves down into the settlement known as Crawford. In September 1889, the CB&Q succeeded, establishing a small operations base in Crawford, as well as a connection with the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad. The arrival of the CB&Q and the creation of a junction between the two railroads provided a significant economic boost to the region, particularly the agricultural and ranching industries. The line also became a vital means of transport for the soldiers, horses, and supplies at the United States Army's outpost at Fort Robinson. In 1907, Crawford became a city, and by 1911, it had the seventh-highest business volume in Nebraska. Through the years Crawford saw many businesses come and go, including a brick works, mica mill, pickle factory, and a Nash Finch Company warehouse. Crawford's population peaked at 2,536 in 1910. All of this was supported by and heavily relied on the railroad. On March 2, 1970, the route became property of Burlington Northern Railroad as the result of a merger that involved four major railroads: the Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad as well as a few small jointly owned subsidiaries owned by the four. The newly formed railroad would bring major improvements to the route. In 1992 Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad successor Chicago and North Western determined there was insufficient traffic on their line to continue operations, and abandoned the track, including removing the diamond crossing with Burlington Northern Railroad at Crawford. A portion of the route from Crawford to Chadron would again see life when revived by the regional Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, which in April 2010 handed over operations to shortline operators Nebraska Northwestern Railroad and Nebkota Railway. As of 2014, both continued interchange of grain and merchandise by boxcar at Crawford. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crawford Hill, Nebraska」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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